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Story of tfye *&\bk 




DAVID MEETING GOLIATH 











MrrTTTFT?'Q 




Story of the Bible 

TOLD FOR YOUNG AND OLD 
















Giving in Simple Language of To-day, in a 

Continuous Form, the Great Truths 

and Important Facts of the 

English Bible 




One Hundred and Sixty-eight Stories 

Each Complete in Itself, and Together Forming a 

Connected Narrative of the 

Holy Scripture 


By REV. JESSE LYMAN HURLBUT, D.D. 

Author of " Revised Normal Lessons," " Studies in Old Testament 

History," " Studies in the Four Gospels." " From Saul 

to Solomon," etc., etc. 


Profusely Illustrated 

WITH COLOR PLATES AND HALF TONE ENGRAVINGS 
















THE H. W. B. CONRAD PUBLISHING CO. 

BOOK AND BIBLE PUBLISHERS 

N. W. Corner Seventh and Filbert Streets 
PHILADELPHIA, PA. 











M 



LIBRARY of UONSSfcSS 
two Copies rteteivBU 

WAY 18 liWD 

_. CouyriKfti cjiiry 

OLUSS /? XXC. N05 

//¥^ 
COPY 
I 



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ENTERED ACCORDING TO ACT OF 
CONGRESS IN THE YEAR 1905 BY 

H. W. B. CO N R AD, in the 

OFFICE OF THE LIBRARIAN OF 
• COrvjGRESS, AT WASHINGTON, D. C. 



Copyright 1904, 
W. E. SCULL 



ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 



/ s(,( 



vSV 



®n % f nung P^0pk of Amrrira 

This Book is Dedicated, in 
the hope that it may inter- 
est them in the reading of 



E BEST OF ALL BOOKS 



INTRODUCTION. 



THE PURPOSE AND PLAN OF THIS BOOK, 




OME years ago, the editor of an English magazine 
sent a communication to " the hundred greatest 
men in Great Britain" asking them this question: 
" If for any reason you were to spend a year abso- 
lutely alone, in a prison for instance, and could select from your 
library three volumes to be taken with you as companions in 
your period of retirement, please to inform us what those 
three books would be." The inquiry was sent to peers of the 
realm, prominent leaders in politics, judges, authors, manufac- 
turers, merchants, gentlemen of leisure — men 

The Most w j 10 wou id represent every aspect of successful 

Popular Book . . 

in the World. ^ e - ^ n the an swers it was found that ninety- 
eight of the hundred men named "The Bible" 
first on the list of the three books to be chosen. 

If from the middle class of society, instead of the highest, 
another hundred names were taken at random, requiring only 
character and not greatness, the proportion of those who 
would name the Bible as the most desirable book in all litera- 
ture would be almost, perhaps quite, as large. And if one 
should ask the same question of a hundred moral honest 



8 The Purpose and Plan of this Book 

people in the lower walks of life — workingmen and housewives 

in humble homes, — the answer from the largest number would 

still be "The Bible." There is no other book in all the world 

which commands annually a circulation of ten million copies, 

in order to supply the demand for it in every land and in 

every language. Choose if you please the new novel that last 

year sold the largest number of copies, and you will find during 

the same year more than ten times the number of Bibles 

were sold. And three years from now, when the new novel 

will be old, forgotten, and no longer in demand, there will 

again be ten million Bibles in three hundred and twenty-five 

languages printed and bound and sold in a year! 

A book which stands in such honor as the Bible no one 

can afford to neglect. It is everywhere quoted, referred to, 

written about, preached from, and every one who would 

be considered as intelligent must have some 

To Tell a Story aC q ua i n tance with it. And the time when one 

One Must . 

Know it. can mos "t readily obtain a familiarity with the 

Bible is in early life. Those who in childhood 

learn the Story of the Bible are fortunate, for they will never 

forget it. Wise parents tell the Stories of the Bible to their 

little children, and both parents and children find them the 

most fascinating of all stories. " David and Goliath " is more 

interesting than " Jack, the Giant Killer;" "Joseph and His 

Brothers" will compare favorably with " Whittington, Lord 

Mayor of London;" the battles of Joshua and David are as 

wonderful as those of "King Arthur and the Table Round." 

The Bible is a veritable "Arabian Nights" of entertainment 

when parents are themselves familiar with the stories and 



The Purpose and Plan of this Book 9 

know how to tell them. No book is so delightful to children 
as the Bible. 

But the parents who are not thoroughly informed, or who 
do not possess the great gift of story-telling, find difficulties 
in the path of teaching the contents of the Bible to their 
children. Here is a great Book with masses of matter inter- 
esting only to students, as history, genealogy, details of law 
and customs of worship, psalms, prophecies, proverbs, epistles 
— how shall a selection be made appropriate to childhood? 
There are Oriental forms of speech, antiquated, unfamiliar, 
sometimes unacceptable to the taste of the age. The Stories 
of the Bible must be chosen with care, some statements must 
be explained, and some allusions must be omitted. There is 
need of a "Child's Bible," if children are to be interested in 
the Book of Books. 

The writer of this work has been for many years a Bible 

student, a Bible teacher and a helper through the press, of 

many who are instructing the young in the 
What we Aim Bible> He has j felt the need of a Book of 
to Do in this & 

Book. Bible Stories, different in some respects from 

any work that has yet appeared. With this 
conviction he has undertaken the preparation of this work, 
which after patient labor and many revisions is now submitted 
to the public. In its purpose and plan its distinguishing 
features are the following: 

i. The aim has been not merely to make a selection of 
the most striking and interesting among the stories contained 
in the Bible, but to tell all the principal stories in their con- 
nected order, and in such relation with each other as to form 



IO The Purpose and Plan of this Book 

a continuous history. Whoever reads this book will find in it 
not only " Stories from the Bible," but also the " Story of the 
Bible" in one narration. He will follow the current of Scrip- 
ture history and biography. 

2. This Bible Story, though continuous and connected, is 
arranged in the form of a series of Stories, each independent 
of all the others and treated separately. Every Story has its 
title; and an effort has been made to give to each a striking 

title, one that will arrest the young reader's 

One Story attention. A child or a parent who might hesi- 

out of ... 

many Stories. ' ta ' te m undertaking to read through the history 

in the Bible, may open almost at random and 

find a Story. Here are one hundred and sixty-eight Stories, 

each one complete in itself, while together combining to form 

one narrative. And with each Story is named the place 

where it may be found in the Bible. 

3. Special care has been given to the language of this 
book. I have endeavored to make it childlike without making 
it childish. Every word has been carefully chosen and there 
are few words in these Stories which a child of ten years old 
will not readily understand. Whenever it has been found 
necessary to introduce any word outside the realm of child- 
hood, as " altar," "offering," "tabernacle," "synagogue," 
"centurion," etc., it is carefully explained, not once only, 
but a number of times, until it becomes familiar. Doctri- 
nal and technical terms have been everywhere excluded, and 
in place of them plain, familiar words have been given. 

4. Inasmuch as the book is designed to lead the young 
reader to the Bible itself, and not away from it, the language 



The Purpose and Plan of this Book « 

of the Bible, or a language somewhat like that of the Bible, 

has been employed. For the same reason I have refrained 

from adding to the Bible record any imaginary scenes or 

incidents or conversations. I wish every child 

The Bible W ^ Q h ears this book read to feel instinctively 

Story and 

That Only. ^at ^ * s ^ e Bible r and not a fairy-tale, to 

which he is listening. When he grows older and 

reads these Stories himself for the first time in the Bible itself, 

I would not have him feel that he has been misled, or taught 

that which is not contained in the Word of God. The Bible 

stories are made plain, but they are not rewritten or changed. 

5. In my opinion many books for children containing 

stories from the Bible are greatly marred by the evident 

attempt to interject a body of divinity into them, to make 

them teach doctrines which may be right or may be wrong, 

but are not stated nor hinted in the Scripture stories. Some 

excellent works have occupied much space here and there in 

trying to put into childlike language and to connect with Bible 

Stories the deepest and most mysterious doctrines, which 

theologians find hard to understand. Others contain many 

moral reflections and applications which may be useful, but 

are not contained in the text of the story. I have sought to j 

explain what needs explanation, but to avoid all doctrinal 

bias, and not to be wise above what is written. Only in a 

few instances where the New Testament warrants a spiritual 

interpretation of the Old Testament story has an application 

been given, and then in the simplest and fewest words. It is 

my confident hope that all denominations of Christians may 

feel at home in the pages of this book. 



12 The Purpose and Plan of this Book 

6. In the management of the material, the paragraphs 
are short, and according to the modern manner the conver- 
sations are generally printed in separate paragraphs. The 
results of recent knowledge in Bible lands and Bible his- 
tory are used as far as is suitable in a book for children. 
Where the Revised Version is a manifest improvement upon 
the Old Version, it has been followed, as bringing the reader 
a step nearer to the thought of the Biblical writers. 

7. Many of the engravings have been designed expressly 
for this book, and both the subjects for illustrations and the 
pictures themselves have been prepared with great care. The 

publishers have not allowed, in the book, scenes 
p. of blood or such as would be repulsive to people 

of taste. There is a realism in some modern 
views of Oriental manners and customs, which may be accu- 
rate, but is not pleasing and does not promote reverence. 
We have sought for pictures representing action and life, rather 
than those of ruined cities and squalid modern villages which 
may represent the Holy Land of to-day, but give no conception 
of the country and its people in Bible times. The pictures and 
the stories with them are designed to make the Word of God 
real to the young people who read these pages. 

In the hope that this book may be an aid to parents and 
teachers in imparting Bible truth, and to children in learning 
it, with an earnest desire to increase the interest in the Sacred 
Narrative, these pages have been prepared and are sent forth 
into the world. 



^L^^s^d^^v^uj^^ ybnnMndf) 



Auou8T i, 1904. 



ZSable of Contents 



INTRODUCTION 



PART FIRST 

Stories From the First FiVe "Books 
in the Bible 



GENESIS 
EXODUS 



LEVITICUS 



NUMBERS 
DEUTERONOMY 



STORY ONE page 

The Story of a Beautiful Garden - 33 

Genesis i: 1, toiii: 24 

STORY TWO 
The First Baby in the World and 

His Brother - - - - 38 

Genesis iv: 1, to 18. 

STORY THREE 

The Great Ship That Saved Eight 

People - - - - - 40 

Genesis v : 1 , to ix : 1 7 

STORY FOUR 

The Tower that was Never Finished 47 

Genesis x : 1 , to xi : 9 

STORY FIVE 

The Story of a Long Journey - 50 

Genesis xi: 27, to xiii: 18 

STORY SIX 

How Lot's Choice Brought Trouble 
and Abram's Choice Brought 
Blessing - - - - 55 

Genesis xiv: 1, to xv: 21 

STORY SEVEN 

The Angel by the Well - - 59 

Genesis xvi : 1 , to xvii : 2 7 



STORY EIGHT page 

The Rain of Fire that Fell on a City 61 

Genesis xviii: 1, to xix: 30 

STORY NINE 
The Boy who Became an Archer - 65 

Genesis xxi: 1, to 21 

STORY TEN 
How an Angel's Voice Saved a Boy's 

Life ----- 68 

Genesis xxii: 1, to xxiii: 20 

STORY ELEVEN 
The Story of a Journey after a Wife 72 

Genesis xxiv : 1 , to xxv : 1 8 

STORY TWELVE 
How Jacob Stole His Brother's » 
Blessing - - - - 76 

Genesis xxv : 27, to xxvii : 46 

STORY THIRTEEN 
Jacob's Wonderful Dream - - 83 

Genesis xxvii : 46, to xxx: 24 

STORY FOURTEEN 
A Midnight Wrestling Match - 86 
Genesis xxx: 25, to xxxiii: 20 
(i3) 



14 



Table of Contents 



STORY FIFTEEN page 

The Rich Man's Son Who was Sold 

as a Slave - - - - 90 

Genesis xxxvii: 1, to 36 

STORY SIXTEEN 
From the Prison to the Palace - 95 

Genesis xl : 1 , to xli : 44 

STORY SEVENTEEN 
How Joseph's Dream Came True - 102 

Genesis xli: 46, to xlii: 38 

STORY EIGHTEEN 
A Lost Brother Found - - - 106 

Genesis xliii: 1, to xlv: 24 

STORY NINETEEN 
From the Land of Famine to the 

Land of Plenty - - - 112 

Genesis xlv: 25, to 1: 26 

STORY TWENTY 
The Beautiful Baby Who was Found 

in a River - - - - 116 

Exodus i : 1 , to ii : 2 2 

STORY TWENTY-ONE 
The Voice from the Burning Bush 121 

Exodus iii : 1 , to iv : 31 

STORY TWENTY-TWO 
The River That Ran Blood - - 126 

Exodus vi: 28, to x: 29 

STORY TWENTY-THREE 
The Night when a Nation was Born 130 

Exodus xi: 1, to xiii: 22 

STORY TWENTY-FOUR 
How the Sea Became Dry Land and 

the Sky Rained Bread - - 134 

Exodus xiv: 1, to xvi: 36 

STORY TWENTY-FIVE 

The Mountain That Smoked and 
the Words That were Spoken 
from It - 139 

Exodus xvii: 1, to xxxi: 18 



STORY TWENTY-SIX page 
How Aaron Made a Golden Calf and 

What Became of It - - 143 

Exodus xxxii: 1, to xxxiv: 35 

STORY TWENTY-SEVEN 
The Tent Where God Lived Among 

His People - - - 147 

Exodus xxxv : 1, to xl: 38 

STORY TWENTY-EIGHT 
How They Worshipped God in the 

Tabernacle - - - - 152 

Leviticus i : 1 to 1 3 ; viii : 1 to 1 3 ; 
Exodus xxvii: 20, 21 

STORY TWENTY-NINE 
What Strong Drink Brought to 

Aaron's Sons - - - - 156 
Leviticus x: 1, to 11 

STORY THIRTY 
The Scapegoat in the Wilderness - 158 

Leviticus xvi: 1, to 34 

STORY THIRTY-ONE 
The Cluster of Grapes from the Land 

of Canaan - - - - 161 

Numbers xiii: 1, to xiv: 45 

STORY THIRTY-TWO 

How the Long Journey of the Israel- 
ites Came to an End - - - 165 

Numbers xx: 1, to xxii: 1 

STORY THIRTY-THREE 
What a Wise Man Learned from an 

Ass. ----- 169 

Numbers xxii: 2, to xxv: 18; 
xxxi: 1, to 9 

STORY THIRTY-FOUR 
How Moses Looked upon the 

Promised Land - - - 176 

Numbers xxvi: 1 to 4, 63 to 65; 
xxxii: 1 to 42; Deuteronomy 
xxxi : 1 , to xxxiv : 1 2 

STORY THIRTY-FIVE 
The Story of Job - - - - 180 

Job i: 1, to ii: 13; xlii: 1 to 17 



Part $hst 



Stories from tfye $ivst $ive 
Boohs in tl?e Bible 



Story (Dne. 



rHE STORY OF A BEAUTIFUL GARDEN. 

Genesis i: i, to iii : 24. 




HIS great round world, on which we live, is very old; 
so old that no one knows when it was made. But 
long before there was any earth, or sun, or stars, God 
was living, for God never began to be. He always 
was. And long, long ago, God spoke, and the earth 
and the heavens came. But the earth was not beautiful as it is 
now, with mountains and valleys, rivers and seas, with trees and 
flowers. It was a great smoking ball, with land and water mingled 
in one mass. And all the earth was blacker than midnight, for 
there was no light upon it. No man could have breathed its air, 
no animals could walk upon it, and no fish could swim in its black 
oceans. There was no life upon the earth. 

While all was dark upon earth, God said, "Let there be light," 
and then the light began to come upon the world. Part of the time 
it was light, and part of the time it was dark, just as it is now. And 
God called the dark time Night, and the light time Day. And that 
was the first day upon this earth after a long night. 

Then at God's word, the dark clouds all around the earth begar 
to break, and the sky came in sight, and the water that was in the 
clouds began to be separate from the water that was on the earth. 
And the arch of the sky which was over the earth God called Heaven. 
Thus the night and the morning made a second day. 

Then God said, "Let the water on the earth come together in 
one place, and let the dry land rise up." And so it was. The water 
that had been all over the world came together, and formed a great 
ocean, and the dry land rose up from it. And the great water God 
called Sea, and the dry land he named Earth: and God saw that 
the Earth and the Sea were both good. Then God said, " Let grass 
3 (33) 



34 The Story of a Beautiful Garden 

and trees, and flowers, and fruits, grow on the earth." And at once 
the earth began to be green and bright with grass, and flowers, and 
trees bearing fruit. This made che third day upon the earth. 

Then God said, "Let the sun, and moon, and stars come into 
sight from the earth." So the sun began to shine by day, and the 
moon and the stars began to shine in the night. And this was done 
on the fourth day. 

And God said, " Let there be fishes in the sea, and let there be 
birds to fly in the air." So the fishes, great ones and small, began 
to swim in the sea; and the birds began to fly in the air over the 
earth, just as they do now. And this was the fifth day. 

Then God said, " Let the animals come upon the earth, great 
animals and small ones ; those that walk and those that creep and 
crawl on the earth." And the woods and the fields began to be 
alive with animals of all kinds. And now the earth began to be 
more beautiful, with its green fields and bright flowers, and singing 
birds in the trees, and animals of every kind walking in the forests. 

But there were no people in the world — no cities nor houses, 
and no children playing under the trees. The world was all ready 
for men and women to enjoy it : and so God said, " I will make man, 
to be different from all other animals. He shall stand up and shall 
have a soul, and shall be like God ; and he shall be the master of the 
earth and all that is upon it." 

So God took some of the dust that was on the ground, and out 
of it he made man; and God breathed into him the breath of life, 
and man became alive, and stood up on the earth. 

And so that the man whom God had made might have a home, 
God planted a beautiful garden on the earth, at a place where four 
rivers met. Perhaps we might rather call it a park, for it was much 
larger than any garden that you have ever seen, for it was miles and 
miles in every direction. In this garden, or park, God planted 
trees, and caused grass to grow, and made flowers to bloom. This 
was called "The Garden of Eden," and as in one of the languages of 
the Bible the word that means "garden," or "park," is a word 
quite like the word "Paradise," this Garden of Eden has often been 
called "Paradise." This garden God gave to the man that he had 
made; and told him to care for it, and to gather the fruits upon 
the trees and the plants, and to live upon them. And God gave 
to the first man the name Adam: and God brought to Adam 



Who Lived in the Beautiful Garden 



35 



the animals that he had made, and let Adam give to each one its 
name. 

But Adam was all alone in this beautiful garden. And God 
said, " It is not good for man to be alone. I will make some one 
to be with Adam, and to help him." So when Adam was asleep, 
God took a rib from Adam's side, and from it God made a woman ; 
and he brought her to Adam, and Adam called her Eve. And Adam 
and Eve loved one another; and they were happy in the beautiful 
garden which God had given them for a home. 




ADAM AND EVE IN THE GARDEN OF EDEN, 



Thus in six. days the Lord God made the heavens and the earth 
and the sea, and all that is in them. And on the seventh day God 
rested from his work. 

For a time, we do not know how long, Adam and Eve were at 
peace in their beautiful garden. They did just as God told them 
to do, and talked with God as a man would talk with his friend; 
and they did not know of anything evil or wicked. It was needful 
for Adam and Eve to understand that they must always obey God's 
commands. So God said to Adam and Eve: 



36 



The Story of a Beautiful Garden 



" You may eat the fruit of all the trees in the garden except one. 
In the middle of the garden grows a tree, with fruit upon it that 
you must not eat and you must not touch. If you eat of the fruit 
upon that tree, you shall die." 

Now among the animals in the garden there was a snake : and 
this snake said to Eve, " Has God told you that there is any kind 
of fruit in the garden, of which you are forbidden to eat?" 

And Eve answered the snake, "We can eat the fruit of all the 

trees except the one 
that stands in the mid- 
dle of the garden. If 
we eat the fruit of that 
tree, God says that we 
must die." 

Then the snake 
said, "No, you will not 
surely die. God knows 
that if you eat of the 
fruit of that tree, you 
will become as wise as 
God himself, for you 
wiil know what is good 
and what is evil." 

Eve listened to 
the snake, and then 
she looked at the tree 
and its fruit. As she 
saw it, she thought 
that it would taste 
good; and if it would 
really make one wise, 
she would like to eat it, 
even though God had 
told her not to do so. 
She took the fruit, and ate it; and then she gave some to Adam, 
and he too ate it. 

Adam and Eve knew that they had done wrong in not obeying 
God's words : and now for the first time they were afraid to meet 
God. They tried to hide themselves from God's sight among the 




ADAM AND EVE SENT OUT INTO THE WORLD. 



What Disobedience Brought 37 

trees of the garden. But the Lord God called and said, " Adam, 
where are you? " And Adam said, " Lord, I heard thy voice in the 
garden, and I was afraid, and I hid myself." 

And God said, "Why were you afraid to meet me? Have you 
eaten the fruit of the tree of which I told you that you must not 
touch it?" And Adam said, "The woman whom thou gavest to 
be with me, she gave me some of the fruit, and I ate it." 

Then God said to the woman, "What is this that you have 
done ? " And Eve said, "The snake told me that it would do 
me no harm if I should eat the fruit, and so I took some of it and 
ate it." 

Then the Lord God said to the snake, " Because you have led 
Adam and Eve to do wrong, you shall no more walk as do other 
animals; you shall crawl in the dust and the dirt forever. You 
shall hate the woman, and the woman shall hate you. You shall 
try to kill her and her children, and her children's children 
forever, and they shall try to kill you." 

And the Lord God said to the woman, " Because you led your 
husband to disobey me, you shall suffer and have pain and trouble 
all the days of your life." 

And God said to Adam, "Because you listened to your wife 
when she told you to do what was wrong, you too must suffer. You 
must work for everything that you get from the ground. You will 
find thorns and thistles and weeds growing on the earth. If you 
want food, you must dig and plant and reap and work, as long as 
you live. You came out from the ground, for you were made of 
dust, and back again into the dust shall your body go when you die." 

And because Adam and Eve had disobeyed the word of the 
Lord, they were driven out of the beautiful Garden of Eden, which 
God had made to be their home. They were sent out into the world ; 
and to keep them from going back into the garden, God placed his 
angels before its gate, with swords which flashed like fire. 

So Adam and his wife lost their garden, and no man has ever 
been able to go into it from that day. 



Story Cn?o. 



THE FIRST BABY IN THE WORLD, AND 
HIS BROTHER. 

Genesis iv : i to 18. 




[O Adam and his wife went out into the world to live 
and to work. For a time they were all alone, but 
after a while God gave them a little child of their 
own, the first baby that ever came into the world. 
Eve named him Cain; and after a time another 
baby came, whom she named Abel. 

When the two boys grew up, they worked, as their father 
worked before them. Cain chose to work in the fields, and to 
raise grain and fruits. Abel had a flock of sheep and became a 
shepherd. 

While Adam and Eve were living ir the Garden of Eden, they 
could talk with God, and hear God's voice speaking to them. But 
now that they were out in the world, they could no longer talk 
with God freely, as before. So when they came to God, they 
built an altar of stones heaped up, and upon it they laid something 
as a gift to God, and burned it, to show that it was not their own, 
but was given to God, whom they could not see. Then before 
the altar they made their prayer to God, and asked God to forgive 
their sins, all that they had done that was wrong; and prayed God 
to bless them and do good to them. 

Each of these brothers, Cain and Abel, offered upon the altar 
to God his own gift. Cain brought the fruits and the grain which 
he had grown ; and Abel brought a sheep from his flock, and killed 
it and burned it upon the altar. For some reason God was pleased 
with Abel and his offering, but was not pleased with Cain and his 
offering. Perhaps God wished Cain to offer something that had 
life, as Abel offered; perhaps Cain's heart was not right when he 
came before God. 

(38) 



Cain Kills His Brother 



39 



And God showed that he was not pleased with Cain; and 
Cain, instead of being sorry for his sin, and asking God to forgive 
him, was very angry with God, and angry also toward his brother 
Abel. When they were out in the field together, Cain struck his 
brother Abel and killed him. So the first baby in the world grew 
up to be the murderer of his own brother. 

And the Lord said to Cain, "Where is Abel your brother?" 
And Cain answered, "I do not know; why should I take care 
of my brother?" 




CAIN KILLS HIS BROTHER ABE 



Then the Lord said to Cam, " What is this that you have done? 
Your brother's blood is like a voice crying to me from the ground. 
Do you see how the ground has opened, like a mouth, to drink 
your brother's blood? As long as you live, you shall be under 
God's curse for the murder of your brother. You shall wander 
over the earth, and shall never find a home, because you have 
done this wicked deed." 

And Cain said to the Lord, "My punishment is greater than 
I can bear. Thou hast driven me out from among men ; and thou 
hast hid thy face from me. If any man finds me he will kill me, 
because I shall be alone, and no one will be my friend." 



40 The Great Ship that Saved Eight People 

And God said to Cain, " If any one harms Cain, he shall be 
punished for it." And the Lord God placed a mark on Cain, so 
that whoever met him should know him, and should know also 
that God had forbidden any man to harm him. Then Cain and 
his wife went away from Adam's home, to live in a place by them- 
selves, and there they had children. And Cain's family built a 
city in that land; and Cain named the city after his first child, 
whom he had called Enoch, 



Story tE^ree. 



THE GREAT SHIP THAT SAVED EIGHT 

PEOPLE. 

Genesis v: i, to ix : 17. 




FTER Abel was slain, and his brother Cain had gone 
into another land, again God gave a child to Adam 
and Eve. This child they named Seth; and other 
sons and daughters were given to them, for Adam 
and Eve lived many years. But at last they died, 
as God had said that they must die, because they had eaten of the 
tree that God had forbidden them to eat. 

By the time that Adam died, there were many people on the 
earth; for the children of Adam and Eve had many other children; 
and when these grew up, they also had children ; and these too 
had children. And in those early times people lived much longer 
than they do now. Very few people now live to be a hundred 
years old; but in those days, when the earth was new, men often 
lived to be eight hundred or even nine hundred years old. So 
after a time that part of the earth where Adam's sons lived began 
to be full of people. 



42 The Great Ship that Saved Eight People 

It is sad to tell that as time went on more and more of these 
people became wicked, and fewer and fewer of them grew up to 
become good men and women. All the people lived near together, 
and few went away to other lands : so it came to pass that even 
the children of good men and women learned to be bad, like the 
people around them. 

And as God looked down on the world that he had made, he 
saw how wicked the men in it had become, and that every thought 
and every act of man was evil and only evil continually. 

But while most of the people in the world were very wicked, 
there were some good people also, though they were very few. The 
best of all the men who lived at that time was a man whose name 
was Enoch. He was not the son of Cain, but another Enoch, who 
came from the family of Seth, the son of Adam who was born after 
the death of Abel. While so many around Enoch were doing evil, 
this man did only what was right. He walked with God, and God 
walked with him and talked with him. And at last, when Enoch 
was three hundred and sixty-five years old, God took him away 
from earth to heaven. He did not die, as all the people have died 
since Adam disobeyed God, but "he was not, for God took him." 
This means that Enoch was taken up from earth without dying. 

Enoch left a son whose name was Methuselah. We do not 
know anything about Methuselah, except that he lived to be nine 
hundred and sixty-nine years old, which was longer than the life 
of any other man who ever lived. But at last, Methuselah died 
like all his people, except his father Enoch. By the time that 
Methuselah died, the world was very wicked. And God looked 
down on the earth, and said: 

"I will take away all men from the earth that I have made; 
because the men of the world are evil, and evil continually." 

But even in those bad times, God saw one good man. His 
name was Noah. Noah tried to do right in the sight of God. As 
Enoch had walked with God, so Noah walked with God, and 
talked with him. And Noah had three sons: their names were 
Shem and Ham and Japheth. 

God said to Noah, "The time has come when all the men and 
women on the earth are to be destroyed. Every one must die, 
because they are all wicked. But you and your family shall be 
saved, because you alone are trying to do right." 



God Tells Noah to Build an Ark 



43 



Then God told Noah how he might save his life and the lives 
of his sons. He was to build a very large boat, as large as the 
largest ships that are made in our time; very long and very wide 
and very deep; with a roof over it; and made like a long wide 
house in three stories, but so built that it would float on the water. 
Such a ship as 
this was called 
"an ark." God 
told Noah to 
build this ark, 
and to have it 
ready for the 
time when he 
would need it. 

"For," said 
God to Noah, 
" I am going to 
bring a great 
flood of water 
on the earth, 
to cover all 
the land and to 
drown all the 
people on the 
earth. And as 
the animals on 
the earth will 
be drowned 
with the peo- 
ple, you must 
make the ark 
large enough 

to hold a pair of each kind of animals, and several pairs of some 
animals that are needed by men, like sheep and goats and oxen ; so 
that there will be animals as well as men to live upon the earth 
after the flood has passed away. And you must take in the ark 
food for yourself and your family, and for all the animals with 
you, enough food to last for a year, while the flood shall stay on 
the earth." 



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THE DOVE CAME BACK TO THE ARK. 



44 The Great Ship that Saved Eight People 

And Noah did what God told him to do, although it must 
have seemed very strange to all the people around, to build this 
great ark where there was no water for it to sail upon. And it 
was a long time, even a hundred and twenty years, that Noah 
and his sons were at work building the ark, while the wicked people 
around wondered, and no doubt laughed at Noah for building a 
great ship where there was no sea. At last the ark was finished, and 
stood like a great house on the land. There was a door on one side, 
and a window on the roof, to let in the light. Then God said to 
Noah, "Come into the ark, you and your wife, and your three sons, 
and their wives with them ; for the flood of waters will come very 
soon. And take with you animals of all kinds, and birds, and 
things that creep; seven pairs of those that will be needed by 
men, and one pair of all the rest ; so that all kinds of animals may 
be kept alive upon the earth." 

So Noah and his wife, and his three sons, Shem, Ham, and 
Japheth, with their wives, went into the ark. And God brought 
to the door of the ark the animals, and the birds, and the creeping 
things of all kinds ; and they went into the ark, and Noah and his 
sons put them in their places, and brought in food for them all. 
And then the door of the ark was shut, so that no more people and 
no more animals could come in. 

In a few days the rain began to fall, as it had never rained 
before. It seemed as though the heavens were opened to pour 
great floods upon the earth. The streams filled, and the rivers 
rose, higher and higher, and the ark began to float on the water. 
The people left their houses and ran up to the hills, but soon the 
hills were covered, and all the people on them were drowned. 

Some had climbed up to the tops of higher mountains, but 
the water rose higher and higher, until even the mountains were 
covered and all the people, wicked as they had been, were drowned 
in the great sea that now rolled over all the earth where men had 
lived. And all the animals, the tame animals — cattle and sheep 
and oxen — were drowned ; and the wild animals — lions and tigers 
and all the rest — were drowned also. Even the birds were drowned, 
for their nests in the trees were swept away, and there was no 
place where they could fly from the terrible storm. For forty 
days and nights the rain kept on, until there was no breath of 
life remaining outside of the ark. 



Noah Sends Forth a Bird 



45 



After forty days the rain stopped, but the water stayed upon 
the earth for more than six months ; and the ark, with all that were 
in it, floated over the great sea that covered the land. Then God sent 
a wind to blow 
over the waters 
and to dry them 
up: so by de- 
grees the waters 
grew less and less. 
First the moun- 
tains rose above 
the waters, then 
the hills rose up; 
and finally the 
ark ceased to 
float, and lay 
aground on a 
mountain which 
is called Mount 
Ararat. But 
Noah could not 
see what had 
happened on the 
earth, because 
the door was 
shut, and the 
window may have 
been in the roof. 
But he felt that 
the ark was no 
longer moving, 
and he knew that 
the water must 
have gone down. 
So, after waiting 
for a time, Noah 

opened a window and let loose a bird called a raven. Now the 
raven has strong wings ; and this raven flew round and round until 
the waters had gone down, and it could find a place to rest, and 
it did not come back to the ark. 




THE DOVE RETURNED NOT AGAIN. 



46 The Great Ship that Saved Eight People 

After Noah had waited for it a while, he sent out a dove ; but the 
dove could not find any place to rest, so it flew back to the ark, and 
Noah took it into the ark again. Then Noah waited a week longer, 
and afterward he sent out the dove again. And at the evening, 
the dove came back to the ark, which was its home ; and in its bill 
was a fresh leaf which it had picked off from an olive tree. 

So Noah knew that the water had gone down enough to let 
the trees grow once more. He waited another week, and sent out 
the dove again; but this time the dove new away and never came 
back. And Noah knew that the earth was becoming dry again. 
So he took off a part of the roof and looked out, and saw that there 
was dry land all around the ark. Noah had now lived in the ark 
a little more than a year, and he was glad to see the green land 
and the trees once more. And God said to Noah: 

"Come out of the ark, with your wife, and your sons, and 
their wives, and all the living things that are with you in the ark." 

So Noah opened the door of the ark, and with his family came 
out, and stood once more on the ground. All the animals and 
birds and creeping things in the ark came out also, and began 
again to bring life to the earth. 

The first that Noah did, when he came out of the ark, was to 
give thanks to God for saving all his family when the rest of the 
people on the earth were destroyed. He built an altar, and laid 
upon it an offering to the Lord, and gave himself and his family 
to God, and promised to do God's will. 

And God was pleased with Noah's offering, and God said : 

"I will not again destroy the earth on account of men, no 
matter how bad they may be. From this time no flood shall again 
cover the earth ; but the seasons of spring and summer and fall and 
winter shall remain without change. I give to you the earth ; you 
shall be the rulers of the ground and of every living thing upon it." 

Then God caused a rainbow to appear in the sky, and he told 
Noah and his sons that whenever they or the people after them 
should see the rainbow, they should remember that God had placed 
it in the sky and over the clouds as a sign of his promise that he 
would always remember the earth and the people upon it, and 
would never again send a flood to destroy men from the earth. 

So, as often as we see the beautiful rainbow, we are to remem- 
ber that it is the sign of God's promise to the world. 



Story 5 0Ut - 



THE TOWER THAT WAS NEVER 
FINISHED. 

Genesis x : i, to xi : 9. 




FTER the great flood, the family of Noah and those 
who came after him grew in number until, as the 
years went on, the earth began to be full of people 
once more. But there was one great difference 
between the people who had lived before the flood 
and those who lived after it. Before the flood, all the people stayed 
close together, so that very many lived in one land and no one lived 
in other lands. So far as we know, all the people on the earth 
before the great flood, lived in the lands where the two great rivers 
flowed, called the Tigris and Euphrates. This part of the world was 
very full of people ; but few or none crossed the mountains on the 
east, or the desert on the west ; and the great world beyond was 
without people living in it. After the flood, families began to 
move from one place to another, seeking for themselves new homes. 
Some went one way, and some another. 

This moving about was a part of God's plan to have the whole 
earth used for the home of men, and not merely a small part of it. 
Then, too, a family who wished to serve God, and do right, could 
go away to another land if the people around them became evil ; and 
in a place by themselves they could bring up their children in the 
right way. 

From Mount Ararat, where the ark rested, many of the people 
moved southward into a country between two great rivers, the 
rivers Tigris and Euphrates : and there they built houses for them- 
selves. They undertook to build a great city, which should rule 
all the peoples around them. They found that the soil in that 
country could be made into bricks, and that the bricks could be 
heated and made hard ; so that it was easy to build houses to live 
in, and walls around their city to make it strong against enemies. 

(47) 



43 



Tower that Was Never Finished 



And the people said to each other, " Let us build a great tower, 
that shall stand on the earth and shall reach up to the sky ; so that 
we may be kept together, and not scattered abroad on the earth." 

So they began to build their great tower out of bricks, which 
they piled up, one story above another. But God did not wish all 
the people on the earth to live close together, just as they had lived 
before the great flood. God knew that if they all kept together, 
those that were wicked would lead, away from God those that were 




THE FEOPLE WERE SCATTERED FROM TOWER OF BABEL. 



good, and all the world would become evil again, as it had been 
before the flood. 

This was the way that God kept people from staying in one 
place. While they were building this great city and tower which 
they intended to rule the world, God caused their speech to change. 
At that time, all men were speaking one language, so that everybody 
could understand what every other person said. 

God caused men to change their language, perhaps not all at 
once, but by degrees, little by little. After a time, the people that 
belonged to one family found that they could not understand what 



Table of Contents 
PART SECOND 



15 



Stories of Joshua and the Judges 



JOSHUA 
JUDGES 



STORY ONE page 

the Story of a Scarlet Cord - - 187 

Joshua i: 1, to ii: 24 

STORY TWO 
How the River Jordan Became 
Dry, and the Walls of Jericho 
Fell Down - - - - 190 

Joshua iii: 1, to vi: 27 

STORY THREE 
The Story of a Wedge of Gold - 195 

Joshua vii : 1 , to viii : 3 5 

STORY FOUR 

How Joshua Conquered the Land of 

Canaan - - - - 198 

Joshua ix: 1, to xi: 23 

STORY FIVE 
The Old Man Who Fought Against 

the Giants - - - - 202 

Joshua xiv: 1, to xix: 51 

STORY SIX 

The Avenger of Blood and the 

Cities of Refuge - 205 

Joshua xx : i, to xxi: 45 

STORY SEVEN 
The Story of an Altar Beside the 

River ----- 209 

Joshua xxii: 1, to xxiv: 33 

STORY EIGHT 
The Present That Ehud Brought to 

King Eglon - - - - 212 

Judges i : 1 , to iii : 3 1 

STORY NINE 
How a Woman Won a Great Victory 215 

Judges iv: 1, to v: 31 



RUTH 

I SAMUEL ix to x 



STORY TEN page 

Gideon and His Brave Three Hun- 
dred ----- 220 

Judges vi: 1, to viii: 28 



STORY ELEVEN 
Jephthah's Rash Promise and What 
Came from It 

Judges viii: 33, to xi: 40 



228 



STORY TWELVE 
The Strong Man : How He Lived and 

How He Died - 232 

Judges xiii : 1 , to xvi : 3 1 

STORY THIRTEEN 
The Idol Temple at Dan and Its 

Priest ----- 241 

Judges xvii: 1, to xviii: 31 

STORY FOURTEEN 
How Ruth Gleaned in the Field of 

Boaz ----- 245 

Ruth i : 1 , to iv : 22 



STORY FIFTEEN 
The Little Boy with a Linen Coat 
I Samuel i : 1 , to iii : 21 



250 



STORY SIXTEEN 
How the Idol Fell down before the 

Ark ----- 254 

I Samuel iv : 1 , to vii • 1 

STORY SEVENTEEN 
The Last of the Judges - 257 

I Samuel vii: 2 to 17 

STORY EIGHTEEN 
The Tall Man Who was Chosen King 260 
I Samuel viii: 1, to x: 27 



i6 



Table of Contents 
PART THIRD 



Stories of the &hree Great Kings 
of Israel 



SAUL, DAVID AND SOLOHON 

I SAMUEL xi: J, to xxxi : J3 I KINGS i : \, to ix : 43 

II SAMUEL I CHRONICLES xiiii J, to 

H CHRONICLES i: J, to ix: 3J 



30 



STORY ONE page 

How Saul Saved the Eyes of the Men 

of Jabesh - 267 

I Samuel xi: 1, to xii: 25 

STORY TWO 
The Brave Young Prince - - 270 

I Samuel xiii: 1, to xiv: 46 

STORY THREE 
Saul's Great Sin and His Great Loss 274 

I Samuel xv : 1 to 3 5 

STORY FOUR 

The Shepherd Boy of Bethlehem - 277 
I Samuel xvi: 1 to 23 

STORY FIVE 
The Shepherd Boy's Fight with 

the Giant - 282 

I Samuel xvii : 1 to 54 

STORY SIX 

The Little Boy Looking for the 

Arrows ----- 286 

I Samuel xvii: 55, to xx: 42 

STORY SEVEN 
Where David Found the Giant's 

Sword ----- 293 

I Samuel xxi: 1, to xxii: 23 

STORY EIGHT 
How David Spared Saul's Life - 297 

I Samuel xxiii : 1 , to xxvii : 1 2 



STORY NINE page 

The Last Days of King Saul - - 300 

I Samuel xxviii: 1, toxxxi: 13 

STORY TEN 
The Shepherd Boy Becomes a King 306 

II Samuel i: 1, to iv: 12 



309 



STORY ELEVEN 
The Sound in the Treetops - 

II Samuel v: 1, to vii: 29 

STORY TWELVE 
The Cripple at the King's Table - 313 

II Samuel viii: 1, to ix: 13 

STORY THIRTEEN 
The Prophet's Story of the Little 

Lamb ----- 316 

II Samuel xi: 1 to 25; Psalm 51 

STORY FOURTEEN 
David's Handsome Son and How He 
Stole the Kingdom - - - 
II Samuel xiii: 1, to xvii: 23 

STORY FIFTEEN 
Absalom in the Wood ; David on the 
Throne - - - 

II Samuel xvii: 24, to xx: 26 

STORY SIXTEEN 
The Angel with the Drawn Sword 

on Mount Moriah - 334 

II Samuel xxiv: 1 to 25; 
I Chronicles xxi: 1 to 27 



320 



327 



Table of Contents 



17 



STORY SEVENTEEN page 

Solomon on His Father's Throne - 337 
I Kings i: 1 to 53 



STORY EIGHTEEN 
The Wise Young King - 

I Kings iii : 1 , to iv : 34 ; 

II Chronicles i: 1 to 13 



- 340 



STORY NINETEEN page 

The House of God on Mount Moriah 343 

I Kings v : 1 , to ix : 9 ; 
II Chronicles iii: 1, to vii: 22 

STORY TWENTY 

The Last Days of Solomon's Reign 346 

I Kings x : 1 , to xi : 43 



PART FOURTH 



Stories of the Kingdom of Israel 

From I KINGS xii: J, to II KINGS xv: 41 



STORY ONE 

The Breaking Up of a Great King- 
dom - - - - - 353 

I Kings xii: 1 to 24; II Chroni- 
cles x : 1 to 1 9 . 

STORY TWO 

The King Who Led Israel to Sin, and 
the Prophet Who was Slain by a 
Lion ----- 356 

I Kings xii: 25, to xiv: 20; 

xv: 25 to 32 

STORY THREE 
The Prophet Whose Prayer Raised a 

Boy to Life - 362 

I Kings xv : 33, to xvii: 24 



STORY FOUR 
The Prayer that was Answered in 



Fire 



367 



I Kings xviii : 1 to 46 



STORY FIVE 

The Voice That Spoke to Elijah in the 

Mount - 372 

I Kings xix: 1 to 21 

STORY SIX 

The Wounded Prophet and His 

Story - - - - - 376 
I Kings xx : 1 to 43 



STORY SEVEN 
What Ahab Paid for His Vineyard - 378 

I Kings xxi : 1 to 29 

STORY EIGHT 
The Arrow that Killed a King - 381 

I Kings xxii: 1 to 40 

STORY NINE 
Elijah's Chariot of Fire - 384 

II Kings i: 1, to ii: 15 

STORY TEN 

A Spring Sweetened by Salt; and 

Water That Looked Like Blood 387 

II Kings ii: 19, to iii: 27 

STORY ELEVEN 
The Pot of Oil and the Pot of Poison 390 

II Kings iv: 1 to 7 ; iv: 38 to 44; 
vi : 1 to 7 



STORY TWELVE 
The Little Boy at Shunem 

II Kings iv: 8 to 37 



- 392 



STORY THIRTEEN 
How a Little Girl Helped to Cure a 

Leper - - - - - 395 

II Kings v: 1 to 27 



i8 



Table of Contents 



STORY FOURTEEN page 

The Chariots of Fire around Elisha 399 

II Kings vi: 8 to 23 

STORY FIFTEEN 
What the Lepers found in the Camp 401 

II Kings vi: 24, to vii: 20 

STORfiT SIXTEEN 
Jehu, the Furious Driver of His 

Chariot ----- 404 
II Kings viii: 7 to 15; ix: 1, to x: 36 



STORY SEVENTEEN page 

Elisha and the Bow; Jonah and 

Nineveh - - - - 411 

II Kings xiii: 1 to 25; 
Jonah i : 1 , to iv : 1 1 



STORY EIGHTEEN 
How the Ten Tribes were Lost - 416 
II Kings xv : 8, to xvii: 41 



PART FIFTH 



Stories of the People and Kingdom 

of Judah 

From II CHRONICLES xii: \, to the End of the Old Testament 



STORY ONE 

The First Four Kings of Judah - -421 

II Chronicles xii: 1, to xx: 37 

STORY TWO 

The Little Boy who was Crowned 

King ----- 426 

II Chronicles xxi: 1, to xxiv: 27 

STORY THREE 

Three Kings and a Great Prophet 430 

II Chronicles xxv: 1, to xxviii: 27; 
Isaiah vi: 1 to 13 

STORY FOUR 

The Good King Hezekiah - - 436 
II Kings xviii: 1, to xx: 21; 
II Chronicles xxix : 1, toxxxii: 
33 ; Isaiah xxxvi: 1, to xxxviii : 
22 

STORY FIVE 

The Lost Book Found in the Temple 441 

II Kings xxi: 1, to xxiii: 25. 
II Chronicles xxxiiS: 1, to 
xxxv ; 27 



STORY SIX 
The Last Four Kings of Judah and 

the Weeping Prophet - - 445 
II Kings xxiii : 3 1 , to xxv : 22; 

II Chronicles xxxvi: 1 to 21; 
Jeremiah xxii : 1 o to 1 2 ; xxiv : 
1 to 1 o : xxix : 1 to 29 ; xxxvi : 
1, to xliii: 13 

STORY SEVEN 

What Ezekiel Saw in the Valley - 451 

Ezekiel xxxvii 

STORY EIGHT 
The Jewish Captives in the Court of 

the King - - - - 454 

Daniel i: 1, to ii: 49 

STORY NINE 
The Golden Image and the Fiery 

Furnace - - - - 459 

Daniel iii: 1 to 30 

STORY TEN 
The Tree That was Cut down and 

Grew Again - - - - 462 
Daniel iv.i to 37 



Table of Contents 



19 



STORY ELEVEN page 

The Writing Upon the Wall = - 465 

Daniel v: 1 to 31 

STORY TWELVE 

Daniel in the Den of Lions - - 469 

Daniel vi: 1 to 28 

STORY THIRTEEN 

The Story of a Joyous Journey - 473 

Ezra i : 1 , to iii : 7 

STORY FOURTEEN 

The New Temple on Mount Moriah - 477 

Ezra iii: 8, to vi: 22; Haggai 
i : 1 , to ii : 23 ; Zechariah iv : 6 
to 10 



STORY FIFTEEN page 

The Beautiful Queen of Persia - 481 

Esther i : 1 , to x : 3 

STORY SIXTEEN 
The Scribe Who Wrote the Old 

Testament - - - - 491 
Ezra vii : 1 , to x : 44 

STORY SEVENTEEN 
The Nobleman Who Built the Wall 

of Jerusalem - 495 

Nehemiah i: 1, to vii: 73 

STORY EIGHTEEN 

Ezra's Great Bible Class in Jerusa- 
lem ----- 500 
Nehemiah viii : 1 , to xiii : 3 1 ; 
Malachi i : 1 , to iv : 6 



PART SIXTH 



The Story of Jesus 

As Found in the Gospels 



MATTHEW 
LUKE 



MARK 
JOHN 



STORY ONE 

The Angel by the Altar - 

Luke i: 1 to 80 



505 



STORY TWO 
The Manger of Bethlehem - - 510 
Matth. i: 18 to 25; Luke ii: 1 
to 39 

STORY THREE 

The Star and the Wise Men - - 514 
Matth. ii: 1 to 23 

STORY FOUR 

The Boy in his Father's House - 518 

Luke ii : 40 to 5 2 



STORY FIVE 
The Prophet in the Wilderness - 522 
Matth. iii : 1 to 1 7 . Mark i : 1 to 
1 1 ; Luke iii : 1 to 23 

STORY SIX 
Jesus in the Desert, and beside the 

River ----- 525 

Matth. iv: 1 to 11; Marki: 12 
to 13; Luke iv: 1 to 13; 
John i: 29 to 51 

STORY SEVEN 
The Water Jars at the Wedding 



Feast 



John ii : 1 , to iii : 21 



530 



20 



Table of Contents 



STORY EIGHT page 

The Stranger at the Well - - 534 

Matth. xiv: 3 to 5 ; Mark vi : 17 
to 20; Luke iii: 19, 20; 
John iii: 22 ; iv: 42 



STORY NINE 

The Story of a Boy in Capernaum, 

and of a Riot in Nazareth - 538 



STORY FIFTEEN page 

Some Stories that Jesus Told by the 



Sea 

Matth. xiii: 1 to 53; Mark iv 
1 to 34; Luke viii: 4 to 18 



564 



John iv: 46 to 54; 
to 31 



Luke iv : 1 6 



STORY TEN 

A Net Full of Fishes - . - - 542 

Matth. iv: 18 to 22; Marki: 16 
to 34; Luke iv: 33, to v: 11 

STORY ELEVEN 

The Leper and the Man Let Down 

Through the Roof - 546 

Matth. viii: 2 to 4; ix: 2 to 8; 
Mark i : 40 to 45 ; ii : 1 to 1 2 ; 
Luke v: 12 to 26. 



STORY TWELVE 

The Cripple at the Pool and the 
Withered Hand in the Syna- 
gogue - - - - - 550 

Matth. xii: 1 to 14; Markii: 23, 
to iii : 6 ; Luke vi : 1 to 1 1 ; 
John v: 1 to 18 

STORY THIRTEEN 

The Twelve Disciples and the Ser- 
mon on the Mount - 554 

Matth. ix: 9 to 13; Chapters v 
to viii; Mark ii: 13 to 17; 
Luke v : 2 7 to 3 2 ; vi : 12 to 49 

STORY FOURTEEN 

The Captain's Servant, the Widow's 
Son, and the Woman who was 
a Sinner - - - 559 

Matth. viii: 5 to 13; Luke vii: 
1 to 17 ; 36 to 50 



STORY SIXTEEN 

'Peace, Be Still" - - - 568 

Matth. viii: 18 to 34; Mark iv: 
35, to v: 21 ; Luke viii: 22 to 
40. 



STORY SEVENTEEN 

The Little Girl Who was Raised to 

Life ----- 570 

Matth. ix: 18 to 38; x: 1 to 42; 
Mark v: 22 to 43; Luke viii: 
41 to 56; ix: 1 to 5 



STORY EIGHTEEN 

Dancing Girl and What was 
Given Her - 575 

Matth. xi : 2 to 19; xiv: 1 to 
12; Mark vi: 14 to 29; Luke 
vii: 18 to 35 



STORY NINETEEN 

The Feast Beside the Sea, and What 

Followed It - - - - 578 

Matth. xiv: 13 to 36; Mark vi: 
30 to 56; Luke^ix: 10 to 17; 
John vi : 1 to 7 1 



STORY TWENTY 

The Answer to a Mother's Prayer - 583 

Matth. xv : 21 to 39; Mark vii: 
24 to viii: 26 



STORY TWENTY-ONE 

The Glory of Jesus on the Moun- 
tain ----- 586 

Matth. xvi: 13, to xvii: 23; 
Mark viii : 2 7 , to ix : 3 2 ; Luke 
ix: 18 to 45 



Table of Contents 



21 



STORY TWENTY-TWO page 
The Little Child in the Arms of Jesus 591 

Matth xvii: 24, to xviii: 35; 
Markix: 33 to 48; Luke ix: 
46 to 50 

STORY TWENTY-THREE 
At the Feast of Tabernacles - - 594 

Matth. viii : 19 to 22 ; Luke ix: 
57 to 62; x: 38 to 42; xvii: 
11 to 19; John vii: 2 to 52 



STORY TWENTY-FOUR 
The Man with Clay on His Face 
John ix: 1 to 41 



- 597 



STORY TWENTY-FIVE 
The Good Shepherd and the Good 

Samaritan - 600 

John x : 1 to 4 1 ; Luke x : 1 to 
37 

STORY TWENTY-SLX 
Lazarus Raised to Life - - 603 

John xi : 1 to 55 

STORY TWENTY-SEVEN 
Some Parables in Perea - 607 

Luke xii: 1, to xv: 32 

STORY TWENTY-EIGHT 
The Poor Rich Man and the Rich 

Poor Man - 613 

Luke xvi : 1 to 31; xviii : 1 to 
34; Matth. xix: 13 to 30; 
xx : 1 7 to 1 9 ; Mark x : 1 3 to 34 

STORY TWENTY-NINE 
Jesus at Jericho - 618 

Matth. xx : 20 to 34; Markx: 
35 to 5 2 ; Luke xviii : 3 5 , to 
xix: 28 



STORY THIRTY 

Palm Sunday - 

Matth. xxi : 1 to 1 1 ; xxvi : 6 to 
1 6 ; Mark xi : 1 to 11; xiv : 3 to 
1 1 ; Luke xix : 2 9 to 4 1 ; xxii : 
3 to 6; John xii: 1 to 19 



623 



STORY THIRTY-ONE page 
The Last Visits of Jesus to the Tem- 
ple ----- 626 

Matth. xxi: 18, to xxiii: 39; 
Mark xi: 12, to xii: 44; Luke 
xix: 45, to xxi: 4 

STORY THIRTY-TWO 

The Parables on the Mount of Olives 632 

Matth. xxiv: 1, to xxv: 46; 
Mark xiii : 1 , to 3 7 ; Luke xxi ' 
5 to 38 

STORY THIRTY-THREE 

The Last Supper - 636 

Matth. xxvi: 17 to 35; Mark 
xiv : 12 to 31; Luke xxii ; 7 to 
38 ; John xiii : 1, to xvii : 26 

STORY THIRTY-FOUR 

The Olive Orchard and the High 

Priest's Hall - 641 

Matth. xxvi: 36 to 75; Mark 
xiv : 3 2 to 7 2 ; Luke xxii : 40 
to 62; John xviii : 1 to 2 7 

STORY THIRTY-FIVE 

The Crown of Thorns - 646 

Matth. xxvi: 57, to xxvii: 26; 
Mark xv : 1 to 1 5 ; Luke xxii : 
66, to xxiii: 25 ; John xviii: 
19, to xix: 16 

STORY THIRTY-SIX 

The Darkest Day of All the World - 652 

Matth. xxvii: 31 to 66; Mark 
xv : 20 to 47 ; Luke xxiii: 26 
to 56; John xix: 16 to 42 

STORY THIRTY-SEVEN 
The Brightest Day of All the World - 658 

Matth. xxviii: 1 to 10; Mark 
xvi: 1 to 13; Luke xxiv: 1 to 
49; John xx : 1 to 23 

STORY THIRTY-EIGHT 
The Stranger on the Shore - - 664 

Matth. xxviii: 16 to 20; Mark 
xvi: 14 to 20; Luke xxiv: 50 
to 53; John xx : 2 6, to xxi ".25; 
Acts i: 1 to 11; I Cor. xv: 
3 to 8 



22 



Table of Contents 
PART SEVENTH 



Stories of the Early Church 

As Found in the Acts of the Apostles and 
Book of Revelation 



STORY ONE 

The Church of the First Days 

Acts i: 12, to ii: 47 



PAGE 

673 



STORY TWO 
The Man at the Beautiful Gate - 675 

Acts iii : 1 , to iv : 3 1 

STORY THREE 
The Right Way to Give, and the 

Wrong Way - 679 

Acts iv: 32, to v: 42 

STORY FOUR 

Stephen With the Shining Face - 683 

Acts vi: 1, to viii: 3 

STORY FIVE 
The Man Reading in the Chariot - 686 

Acts viii: 4 to 40 

STORY SIX 

The Voice that Spoke to Saul - - 689 

Acts ix : 1 to 3 1 ; Acts xxii : 1 to 
21; Galatians i: 11 to 24. 

STORY SEVEN 
What Peter Saw by the Sea - 695 

Acts ix: 32, to xi: 18 

STORY EIGHT 
How the Iron Gate was Opened 700 

Acts xii: 1 to 24 

STORY NINE 

The Earliest Missionaries - - 703 

Acts xi : 1 9 to 30 ; xiii : 1 , to xiv : 

28 

STORY TEN 

The Song in the Prison - 708 

Acts xv: 1, to xvi: 40 



STORY ELEVEN pagb 

Paul's Speech on the Hill - - 713 

Acts xvii: 1 to 34 

STORY TWELVE 

Paul at Corinth - - - - 716 

Acts xviii: 1 to 22 

STORY THIRTEEN 

Paul at Ephesus - - - - 719 

Acts xviii : 23, to xx : 1 

STORY FOURTEEN 
Paul's Last Journey to Jerusalem - 723 

Acts xx : 2, to xxi: 16 

STORY FIFTEEN 

The Speech on the Stairs - - - 726 

Acts xxi: 17, to xxii: 29 

STORY SIXTEEN 
Two Years in Prison - 730 

Acts xxii: 30, to xxiv: 27 

STORY SEVENTEEN 
The Story that Paul told to the King 734 

Acts xxv : 1, to xxvi: 32 

STORY EIGHTEEN 
Paulin the Storm - 738 

Acts xxvii: 1, to xxviii: 1 

STORY NINETEEN 
How Paul Came to Rome and How 

He Lived There - 742 

Acts xxviii: 2 to 31 

STORY TWENTY 
The Throne of God - 746 

Revelation i: 9 to 20; iv: 1, to 
v: 14 

STORY TWENTY-ONE 

The City of God - - 748 

Revelation vii : 9 to 1 7 ; xxi : 1 

to 27; xxii • t to 1 7 



Ctst of 3llustrattons 



List of Illustrations 



PAGE 

Adam and Eve in the Garden of 

Eden 35 

Adam and Eve Sent Out Into the 

World 36 

Cain Kills His Brother Abel 39 

Noah's Offering After the Flood 

Full Page 41 

The Dove Came Back to the Ark ... 43 

The Dove Returned Not Again .... 45 
The People Were Scattered from 

Tower of Babel 48 

A Native of Egypt and His Water 

Bottle 51 

The Sphinx and Pyramid in 

Egypt 53 

The Dead Sea Near Where Stood 

Sodom and Gomorrah 56 

Abram Meets King Melchizedek. . . 57 

Hagar by the Spring of Water 60 

Sodom and Gomorrah Burned Up . . 63 

Hagar Goes Into the Wilderness. . . 66 
Hagar and Her Little Boy in the 

Desert 67 

"Abraham! Abraham!" 70 

Abraham's Servant Meeting Re- 

bekah at the Well 73 

Abraham's Servant Shows the 

Presents 74 

He Gave Her Gold Bracelets and a 

Gold Ring 75 

Esau was Fond of Hunting 77 

Esau Selling His Birthright for a 

Meal 79 

Isaac Blesses Jacob 80 

Jacob's Wonderful Dream 84 

Jacob and the Angel 88 

Rachel's Tomb 90 

(2 



PAGE 

Joseph Telling His Dreams to His 

Brothers Full Page 91 

Joseph Sold by His Brothers 93 

A Great Temple in Egypt 96 

Joseph Before Pharaoh 99 

Joseph Telling Pharaoh the Mean- 
ing of His Dream Full Page 101 

Plowing in Bible Time 103 

Benjamin is Brought to Joseph 

Full Page 107 
The Cup was Found in the Sack of 

Benjamin no 

Joseph Brings Jacob to Pharaoh , . . 113 
The Tomb of Abraham, Isaac and 

Jacob 115 

The Baby in the Ark Floats Down 

the River 117 

The Princess Finds the Baby 119 

Moses Drove Off the Rough Men ... 120 

Moses Sees the Bush on Fire 

Full Page 123 
Pharaoh's Own Son Lay Dead .... 

Full Page 131 
The Egyptians Were Drowned in 

the Sea 135 

Moses Strikes the Rock 140 

Moses Brings the Tables of Stone . . 145 

The Tabernacle in the Wilderness . . 148 

The High Priest, and the Holy Ark . 151 

The High Priest 154 

The Golden Candlestick 155 

The Brazen Altar 157 

The Scapegoat 159 

Moses Comes Down from Mt. 

Sinai with Tables of Stone 160 

The Two Young Men Carried a 

Cluster of Grapes Between Them 162 

S) 



26 



List of Illustrations 



PAGE 

Miriam Singing the Song Moses 
Wrote 166 

The Angel Meets Balaam in the 
Way 172 

Moses Looks Upon the Promised 
Land 177 

Moses' Hands Upheld 179 

The Well of Job 181 

Three Friends Come to See Job .... 183 
The Two Spies Let Down by a Rope 189 
The Priests Blowing Their Horns. . 192 

Jericho As It Now Is 197 

The Gibeonites Come to Joshua . . 199 
The Mosque of Omar, or the Dome 

of the Rock 203 

The Ark with the Golden Cherubim 207 
The Altar Which Stood as a Witness 211 
Barak Sees the Mighty Sisera. , . . . 217 
The Angel Touched Gideon's Offer- 
ing 22J 

The Angel Speaking to Gideon. ... 223 
Jephthah's Daughter and Her 

Young Friends Full Page 229 

Jepthah Mourning for His Daughter 230 

Jephthah Offers Up His Daughter. 231 
Delilah Tries to Learn from Samson 
the Secret of His Strength .... 

Full Page 233 

young Samson Slays the Lion ... 234 

Samson Pulling Down the Temple. 239 
A Harvest Field in the Time of the 

Judges 243 

Orpah Leaves Naomi 246 

Ruth Gleaning in the Field of Boaz 

Full Page 247 

Ruth will Not Leave Naomi 249 

Hannah Brings Her Boy to Eli. . . . 251 
The Boy Who Lived in the Temple 

Full Page 253 

"The Tomb of the Judges" 258 

Samuel Anoints Saul King 262 

A Company of Prophets Meet Saul . 264 
A Messenger Brings Saul Sad News . 268 
"You Have Not Kept God's Com- 
mand" 271 

Samuel Turns Away from Saul. ... 275 



PAGB 

The Boy David Meeting the Lion . . 278 

David Plays Before Saul 280 

David Running to Meet Goliath. . . 284 
David Brought with the Giant's 

Head Before Saul 287 

Saul Throws His Spear at David. . 288 
The Women Meeting David with 

Dancing and Singing 289 

Jonathan Shoots the Arrow 291 

David took the Giant's Sword 294 

The Water from the Well of Beth- 
lehem 295 

David Spares Saul's Life 299 

The Death of Saul 301 

Saul Asks the Woman to Call up 

Samuel 303 

Women Grinding Grain in Bible 

Times 305 

Hebron, Where David Went 308 

The Wall of Jerusalem as it now is 310 
Mephibosheth, Jonathan's Son, 

Before David 314 

The Prophet Nathan Reproves 

David 317 

David Sends for Absalom and 

Kisses Him 321 

The Brook Kedron 323 

Absalom Fleeing Through the 

Forest 328 

Absalom's Pillar 331 

David Gets the Threshing-Floor . . . 335 
The Tomb of David as Shown To- 

Day in Jerusalem 339 

The Wise Decision of the Young 

King Solomon 341 

Benaiah, the Brave Commander of 

Solomon's Guard 342 

Solomon Builds the Temple 345 

The Queen of Sheba Comes to See 

Solomon Full Page 347 

Rehoboam Spoke Harshly to the 

People 354 

The Wife of Jeroboam and the 

Blind Prophet Full Page 357 

A Lion Came Out and Killed the 

Prophet 360 



List of Illustrations 



27 



PAGE 

Elijah Was Fed by the Birds . . . 

Full Page 363 
Elijah Brings the Boy to His 

Mother 365 

Mount Carmel 368 

Elijah's Sacrifice on Mt. Carmel. . . 371 

An Angel Touched Elijah 373 

Elijah Places His Mantle on Elisha. 375 
The Prophet Makes Himself Known 

to the King 377 

Ahab and Naboth 379 

Elijah Meets King Ahab at the Gate 381 
Elijah Strikes the Water With His 

Mantle 385 

Elisha's Fountain 389 

Elisha Lays His Face on the Child's 

Face 393 

The Slave Girl and Naaman's Wife. 396 
The Lepers Visit a Tent of the 

Syrians 402 

Jehu Driving His Chariot to Meet 

King Jehoram Full Page 405 

Jezebel Calls from the Window to 

Jehu Full Page 409 

Jonah Thrown Overboard by the 

Sailors 413 

Jonah and His Gourd 414 

The Prophet Jeremiah When Jeru- " 

salem was Taken Full Page 418 

The Valley of Jehoshaphat 423 

The Priests Teach the People 425 

The Little Joash is Crowned King. . 427 

Uzziah is Smitten With Leprosy ... 43 1 
The High Priest Offers Sacrifice in 

the Temple 433 

Pool of Hezekiah at Jerusalem .... 43 7 

The Shadow on the Dial Goes Back . 439 
The Words of the Law are Read 

Before the King 443 

Jeremiah Warns the People of 

Judah 447 

Jeremiah Tells the King He Shall 

Be Taken Captive 449 

The Captives in Babylon „ . . . 453 

The Four Young Men Before the 

King 455 



The Three Young Jews Were Not 

Afraid of the King 461 

Nebuchadnezzar's Reason Leaves 

Him 463 

Belshazzar Gives a Great Feast in 

Honor of His God 466 

The Fall of Babylon 467 

Daniel in the Den of Lions 470 

Daniel Answers the King 471 

A Distant View of Jerusalem 475 

Jerusalem of To-Day 479 

Queen Esther Coming to the King 

Full Page 483 
Esther Points to Haman as Her 

Enemy 485 

Mordecai Does Not Kneel Before 

Haman Full Page 487 

Haman begs for His Life from 

Esther 489 

Nehemiah, the Cup-Bearer, Before 

the King and Queen 497 

Ezra's Great Bible Class 501 

Elizabeth Greets Mary 507 

The Well of the Virgin Mary, at 

Nazareth . 509 

Jesus in the Manger With Angels 

Looking On 511 

The Baby Jesus Brought to the 

Temple 513 

Strange Men Come to See the 

Newly-Born King 515 

The Flight into Egypt 517 

The Boy Jesus in the Temple 

Full Page 519 

Nazareth 520 

Jesus as a Boy 521 

John the B aptist in the Wilderness . 523 
Jesus Teaching by the Sea of Gali- 
lee 527 

Jesus Makes Peter and Andrew His 

Disciples 528 

Jesus at the Wedding Feast 531 

Jesus Drives out the Buyers and 

Sellers 532 

The Woman of Samaria Sees Jesus 

at the WeU 535 



28 



List of Illustrations 



PAGE 

The Well of the Wise Men Near 

Bethlehem 539 

Jacob's Well as it is Now 541 

Jesus Calls James and John 543 

The Nets Were Filled with Fishes . . 544 

Jesus Teaching At Nazareth 

Full Page 545 
The Man Let Down Through the 

Roof 547 

Jesus Hears the Mother's Prayer. . . 549 

Jesus Heals the Cripple at the Pool . 551 
Jesus and His Disciples in the Field 

of Grain 553 

Jesus Calls Matthew 555 

A Centurion Comes to Jesus 560 

The Woman Washing the Feet of 

Jesus Full Page 561 

The Sower 565 

Jesus Asleep in the Boat 569 

Jesus Raising Jairus' Daughter to 

Life . . . .* . Full Page 571 

The Woman Touching the Hem of 

Jesus' Robe 572 

Jesus Healing the Sick 574 

Tiberias, on the Sea of Galilee 577 

Jesus Blesses the Food 580 

"Be of Good Cheer, It is I." 581 

The Gentile Woman Seeks Jesus for 

Help 584 

Jesus and His Disciples on Mount 

Hermon 588 

Jesus Takes a Little Child in His 

Arms 592 

Jesus at the Home of Mary and 

Martha 595 

The Pool of Siloam as seen To- 

Day , 598 

The Good Shepherd 602 

Lazarus Comes to Life Again 604 

The Shepherd Goes After the Lost 

Sheep 608 

The Lost Piece of Silver 609 

The Father Fell on His Son's Neck . 611 

The Unjust Steward 614 

The Pharisee and the Publican .... 616 

Blind Bartimeus 619 



PAGB 

Jesus on the Mount of Olives 

Full Page 621 

Jesus Rides into Jerusalem 624 

Jesus Drives Out the Traders 628 

Jesus and the Piece of Money 629 

The Poor Widow Drops in Two 

Little Coins 631 

The Coming of the Bridegroom. . . . 633 
They Took the Unfaithful Servant 

Away 634 

Christ Washing Peter's Feet.... 

Full Page 639 
Jesus Finds His Disciples Asleep . . . 643 
Peter Went Out and Wept Bitterly . 645 

Jesus Brought Before Pilate 647 

"Look On This Man" 649 

Judas Bringing Back the Money to 

to the Priests Full Page 65 1 

Jesus Led Away to the Cross 654 

The Women See the Angel at the 

Tomb of Jesus Full Page 657 

The Guards of the Tomb Fall to 

the Earth 659 

The Risen Christ Blessing His Dis- 
ciples Full Page 663 

Thomas Answered "My Lord and 

My God" 665 

The Risen Christ on the Shore .... 

Full Page 667 
Jesus Talks With Two of His Fol- 
lowers Full Page 669 

The Net Full 670 

Peter and John Before the Rulers . . 677 

Joppa 678 

Death of Ananias 681 

Stephen Fell Asleep . . . . 684 

Saul Hears a Strange Voice 691 

The Wall Where Saul Was Let 

Down 693 

Damascus 694 

Tarsus 694 

Dorcas Helping the Poor 697 

Lydda As Seen To-Day 699 

An Angel Enters the Prison Cell. . . 701 

Elymas Struck Blind 705 

Antioch in Syria 706 



List of Illustrations 



29 



Paul and Barnabas Refuse the Sac- 
rifice 707 

Philippi 711 

Rome 712 

Paul Preaching on Mars' Hill 715 

Corinth 717 



VAOB 

Ephesus 722 

A Heathen Temple 732 

Paul Before Agrippa 735 

The Apostle Paul in the Storm . . . 

Full Page 741 

John on the Isle of Patmos 749 



^».'f? #& 








ABRAHAM AND THE ANGELS. 



Illustrations in Color 



FACING PAGE 

David Meeting Goliath Frontispiece 

Abraham and Isaac on Mount Moriah 68 

The People of Israel Working for the Egyptians 126 

Moses Pointing to the Serpent of Brass 139 

The People of Israel Bowing Before the Golden Calf 144 

Shepherds Crossing the River Jordan with their Sheep 240 

Elijah and his Servant on Mount Carmel 376 

King Joash Shooting the Arrow 412 

King Nebuchadnezzar Looking into the Fiery Furnace 460 

The Angel Speaking to Mary 508 

The Good Samaritan Aiding the Man who had been Robbed » . . 600 

Judas Kisses Jesus in the Garden 640 

Mary Magdalene Meeting the Risen Jesus 658 

Peter and John at the Beautiful Gate 676 

The Hovse of Simon the Tanner in Joppa as it Now is 696 

Paul in the Storm at Sea 736 



Why the People Were Scattered 49 

the people of another family were saying, just as now Germans do 
not understand English, and French people cannot talk to Italians, 
until they have learned their different languages. 

As people began to grow apart in their speech they moved 
away into other places, where the families speaking one language 
could understand each other. So the men who were building the 
city and the great tower could no longer understand each other's 
speech; they left the building without finishing it, and many of 
them went away into other lands. So the building stayed forever 
unfinished. 

And the city was named Babel, a word which means "con- 
fusion." It was afterward known as Babylon, and for a long time 
was one of the greatest cities of that part of the world, even after 
many of its people had left it to live elsewhere. 

Part of the people who left Babylon went up to the north, and 
built a city called Nineveh, which became the ruling city of a great 
land called Assyria, whose people were called Assyrians. 

Another company went away to the west, and settled by the 
great river Nile, and founded the land of Egypt, with its strange 
temples and pyramids, its Sphynx, and its monuments. 

Another company wandered northwest until they came to the 
shore of the great sea which we call the Mediterranean Sea. There 
they founded the cities of Sidon and Tyre, where the people were 
sailors, sailing to countries far away, and bringing home many 
things from other lands to sell to the people of Babylon, and 
Assyria, and Egypt, and other countries. 

So after the flood, the earth again became covered with people 
living in many lands and speaking many languages. 



Story $tpe. 



THE STORY OF A LONG JOURNEY. 

Genesis xi: 27, to xiii: 18. 




OT far from the city of Babylon, where they began to 
build the tower of Babel, was another city, called Ur 
of the Chaldees. The Chaldees were the people who 
lived in the country which was called Chaldea, where 
the two rivers Euphrates and Tigris come together. 
Among these people, at Ur, was living a man named Abram. 
Abram was a good man, for he prayed to the Lord God, and tried 
always to do God's will. 

But the people who lived in Ur, Abram's home, did not pray 
to God. They prayed to idols, images made of wood and stone. 
They thought that these images were gods, and that they could 
hear their prayers and could help them. And as these people 
who worshipped idols did not call on God, they did not know his 
will, and they did many wicked things. 

The Lord God saw that Abram was good and faithful, though 
wicked people were living all around him. And God did not wish 
to have Abram's family grow up in such a place, for then they too 
might become wicked. So the Lord spoke to Abram, and said : 

" Abram, gather together all your family and go out from this 
place, to a land far away, that I will show you. And in that land 
I will make your family to become a great people, and I will bless 
you and make your name great, so that all the world shall give 
honor to your name. If you will do as I command you, you shall 
be blessed, and all the families of the earth shall obtain a blessing 
through you." 

Abram did not know just what this blessing meant that God 
promised to him. But we know that Abram's family grew after 
many years into the Israelite people, out of whom came Jesus, 
the Saviour of the world, for Jesus was a descendant of Abram: 
that is, Jesus came a long time afterward from the family of which 

(50) 



Abram's Family 



5i 



Abram was the father; and thus Abram's family became a blessing 
to all the world by giving to the world a Saviour. 

Although Abram did not know just what the blessing was to 
be that God promised to give him, and although he did not know 
where the land lay, to which God was sending him, he obeyed God's 
word. He took 
all his family, 
and with them 
his father Terah, 
who was very 
old, and his wife, 
whose name was 
Sarai ; and his 
brother Nahor 
and his wife, and 
another brother's 
son whose name 
was Lot; for 
Lot's father, 
Haran, who was 
the younger 
brother of Ab- 
ram, had died 
before this time. 
And Abram took 
all that he had, 
his tents, and his 
flocks of sheep, 
and herds of cat- 
tle, and went 

forth on a long journey, to a land of which he did not even know 
the name. 

He journeyed far up the great river Euphrates to the moun- 
tain region, until he came to a place called Haran, in a country 
called Mesopotamia. The word Mesopotamia means "between the 
rivers"; and this country was between the two great rivers Tigris 
and Euphrates. At Haran they all stayed for a time. Perhaps 
they stopped there because Terah, the father of Abram, was too 
old to travel further ; for they stayed at Haran until Terah died. 




A NATIVE OF EGYPT AND HIS W\TER BOTTLE. 



5 2 The Story of a Long Journey 

After the death of Terah, his father, Abram again went on 
his journey, and Lot, his brother's son, went with him ; but Nahor, 
Abram's brother, stayed in Haran, and his family, and children, 
and children's children, whom they call ''his descendants," lived 
at Haran for many years. 

From Haran, Abram and Lot turned toward the southwest, 
and journeyed for a long time, having the mountains on their right 
hand and the great desert on their left. They crossed over rivers, 
and climbed the hills, and at last they came into the land of 
Canaan, which was the land of which God had spoken to Abram. 

This land was called Canaan, because the people who were 
living in it were the descendants, or children's children, of a man 
who had lived long before, whose name was Canaan. A long time 
after this it was called "the Land of Israel," from the people who 
lived in it ; and because in that same land the Lord Jesus lived 
many years afterward; we now call it "The Holy Land." 

When Abram came into the land of Canaan, he found in it a 
few cities and villages of the Canaanites. But Abram and his 
people did not go into the towns to live. They lived in tents, out 
in the open fields, where they could find grass for their sheep and 
cattle. Not far from a city called Shechem, Abram set up his tent 
under an oak tree on the plain. There the Lord came to Abram, 
and said: 

"I will give this land to your children, and to their children, 
and this shall be their land forever. ' ' 

And Abram built there an altar, and made an offering, and 
worshipped the Lord. Wherever Abram set up his tent, there he 
built his altar and prayed to God; for Abram loved God, and 
served God, and believed God's promises. 

Abram and Lot moved their tents and their flocks to many 
places, where they could find grass for their flocks and water to 
drink. At one time they went down to the land of Egypt, where 
they saw the great river Nile. Perhaps they saw also the Pyramids, 
and the Sphinx, and the wonderful temples in that land, for many 
of them were built before Abram lived. 

Abram did not stay long in the land of Egypt. God did not 
wish him to live in a land where the people worshipped idols; 
so God sent Abram back again to the land of Canaan, where he 
could live apart from cities, and bring up his servants and his people 






Abram and Lot 



53 



to worship the Lord. He came to a place where afterward a city 
called Bethel stood ; and there as before he built an altar and prayed 
to the Lord. 

Now Lot, the son of Abram's younger brother who had died, 
was with Abram ; and Lot, like Abram, had flocks of sheep and herds 
of cattle, and many tents for his people. Abram' s shepherds and 
Lot's shepherds quarreled, because there was not grass enough 




THE SPHINX AND PYRAMID IN EGYPT. 



in one place for both of them to feed their flocks ; and besides these 
people, the Canaanites were also in the land, so that there was not 
room for them all. 

When Abram heard of the quarrel between his men and the 
men under Lot, he said to Lot: 

"Let there be no quarrel between you and me, nor between 
your men and my men; for you and I are like brothers to each 
other. The whole land is before us; let us go apart. You shall 
have the first choice, too. If you will take the land on the right 



54 The Story of a Long Journey 

hand, then I will take the land on the left; or if you choose the 
left hand, then I will take the right." 

This was noble and generous in Abram, for he was the older, 
and might claim the first choice. Then, too, God had promised 
all the land to Abram, so that he might have said to Lot, " Go away, 
for this land is all mine." But Abram showed a kind, good heart 
in giving to Lot his choice of the land. 

And Lot looked over the land from the mountain where they 
were standing, and saw down in the valley the river Jordan flowing 
between green fields, where the soil was rich. He saw the cities 
of Sodom and Gomorrah upon the plain, near the head of the Dead 
Sea, into which the Jordan flows. And Lot said, "I will go down 
yonder to the plain." 

And he went down the mountain to the plain, with his tents 
and his men, and his flocks of sheep and his cattle, leaving the land 
on the mountains, which was not so good, to his uncle Abram. 
Perhaps Lot did not know that the people in Sodom were the most 
wicked of all the people in the land ; but he went to live near them, 
and gradually moved his tent closer to Sodom, until after a time 
he was living in that wicked city. 

After Lot had separated from Abram, God said to Abram: 

"Lift up your eyes from this place, and look east and west, 
and north and south. All the land that "you can see, mountains 
and valleys and plains, I will give it to you, and to your children, 
and their children, and those who come after them. Your descend- 
ants shall have all this land, and they shall be as many as the dust 
of the earth ; so that if one could count the dust of the earth, they 
could as easily count those who shall come from you. Rise up, 
and walk through the land wherever you please, for it is all yours." 

Then Abram moved his tent from Bethel, and went to live 
near the city of Hebron, in the south, under an oak tree; and there 
again he built an altar to the Lord. 



Story Six. 



HOW LOT'S CHOICE BROUGHT TROUBLE 

AND ABRAM'S CHOICE BROUGHT 

BLESSING. 

Genesis xiv : i, toxv: 21. 




O Lot lived in Sodom, and Abram lived in his tent on the 
mountains of Canaan. At that time in the plain of 
Jordan, near the head of the Dead Sea, were five cities, 
of which Sodom and Gomorrah were two ; and each 
of the five cities was ruled by its own king. But over 
all these little kings and their little kingdoms was a greater king, 
who lived far away, near the land of Chaldea, from which Abram 
had come, and who ruled all the lands, far and near. 

After a time these little kings in the plain would not obey the 
greater king ; so he and all his army made war upon them. A battle 
was fought on the plain, not far from Sodom, and the kings of Sodom 
and Gomorrah were beaten in the battle, and their soldiers were 
killed. Then the king who had won the victory over his enemies 
came to Sodom, and took everything that he could find in the city, 
and carried away all the people in the city, intending to keep them 
as slaves. After a battle, in those times, the army that won the 
victory took away all the goods, and made slaves of all the people on 
the side that had been beaten. 

So Lot, with all that he owned, was carried away by enemies, 
who went up the valley from Sodom, and did not stop to rest until 
they came to the head-waters of the river Jordan, at a place after- 
ward called Dan. So, all that Lot's selfish choice gained for him was 
to lose all that he had, and to be made a prisoner and a slave. 

Some one ran away from the battle, and came to Abram, who 
was living in his tent under the oak tree near Hebron. As soon as 
Abram heard what had happened, he called together all the men who 
were with him, his servants, his shepherds, and his people, and his 

(55) 



56 



Lot's Choice and Abram's Choice 



friends ; and he led them after the enemy that had taken away Lot. 
He followed as fast as his men could march, and found the enemy, 
with all the goods they had taken and all their prisoners, at Dan, 
one of the places where the Jordan River begins. 

Abram rushed upon the enemies at night, while they were 
asleep, and fought them, and drove them away; so suddenly that 
they left behind them everything, and ran far off among the moun- 
tains. And in their camp Abram found his nephew Lot, safe, with 




THE DEAD SEA NEAR WHERE STOOD SODOM AND GOMORRAH. 



his wife and daughters, and all his goods, and besides, all the 
goods and all the other people that had been carried away from 
Sodom. 

Then the king of Sodom came to meet Abram, at a place near 
the city of Jerusalem, which was afterward called "The King's 
Valley." And with him came the king of Jerusalem, which at that 
time was called Salem. The name of this king was Melchizedek, 
and unlike most other kings in the land at that time, he was a wor- 
shipper of the Lord God, as Abram was. And the King Melchizedek 
blessed Abram, and said, "May the Lord God Most High, who made 



God Speaks Again to Abram 



57 



heaven and earth, bless Abram ; and blessed be the Lord God Most 
High, who has given your enemies into your hand." 

And Abram made a present to the King Melchizedek, because 
he worshipped the Lord. And Abram gave to the king of Sodom all 
the people and all the goods that had been taken away ; and he 
would not take any pay for having saved them. 

You would have thought that after this, Lot would have seen 
that it was wrong for him to live in Sodom ; but he went back to that 




ABRAM MEETS KING MELCHIZEDEK. 



city, and made his home there once more, even though his heart was 
made sad by the wickedness that he saw around him. 

After Abram had gone back to his tent under the oak trees at 
Hebron, one day the Lord God spoke to him, and said : 

"Fear not, Abram; I will be a shield to keep you safe from 
enemies ; and I will give you a very great reward for serving me." 

And Abram said, " O Lord God, what good can anything do to 
me, since I have no child to whom I can give it ; and after I die, the 
man who will own everything that I have is not my son, but a 
servant. " For although Abram had a large family of people around 
him, and many servants, he had no son, and he was now an old 
man, and his wife Sarai was also old. 



58 Lot's Choice and Abram's Choice 

And God said to Abram, "The one to receive what you own 
shall not be a stranger, but shall be your own son." 

And that night God brought Abram out of his tent, under the 
heavens, and said to him : 

" Look now up to the sky, and count the stars, if you can. The 
people who shall spring from you, your descendants, in the years to 
come, shall be many more than all the stars that you can see." 

Abram did not see how this promise of God could be kept ; but 
he believed God's word, and did not doubt it. And God loved 
Abram because he believed the promise. Although Abram could 
not at that time see how God 's promise could be kept, yet we know 
that it was kept, for the Israelite people in the Bible story, and the 
Jews everywhere in the world now, all came from Abram. 

After that, one day, just as the sun was going down, God came 
to Abram again, and told him many things that should come to 
pass. God said to Abram : 

11 After your life is ended, those who are to come from you, your 
descendants, shall go into a strange land. The people of that land 
shall make slaves of them, and shall be cruel to them. And they 
shall stay in that strange land four hundred years; and afterward 
they shall come out of that land, not anymore as slaves, but very 
rich, And after the four hundred years they shall come back to this 
land, and this shall be their home. All this shall come to pass after 
your life, for you shall die in peace and be buried in a good old 
age. And all this land where you are living shall belong to your 
people.' 

So that Abram might remember this promise of God, God told 
Abram to make ready an offering of a lamb and a goat and a pair of 
pigeons, and to divide them in pieces, and place them opposite to 
each other. And that night Abram looked, and saw a smoke and 
fire, like a flaming torch, that passed between the pieces of the 
offering. 

So a promise was made between God and Abram. God prom- 
ised to give Abram a son and a people and a land, and Abram 
promised to serve God faithfully. 

Such a promise as this, made by two people to each other, was 
called a covenant ; and this was God's covenant with Abram. 



Story Setrn 



THE ANGEL BY THE WELL. 

Genesis xvi ; i, to xvii : 27. 




f 0U remember that Abram's wife, who had journeyed 
with him from Ur of the Chaldees, and who lived 
in his tent all those years, was named Sarai. Now 
Sarai had a maid, a servant that waited on her, whose 
name was Hagar. She came from the land of Egypt, 
where were the pyramids and the temples. But Sarai and her maid 
Hagar had some trouble; they could not agree, and Sarai was so 
sharp and severe with Hagar, that at last Hagar ran away from 
Sarai 's tent. 

She went out into the desert, and took the road that led down to 
Egypt, her own country, the land from which she had come. On the 
way she stopped beside a spring of water. There an angel from the 
Lord met her, and said to her: 

" Hagar, are you not the servant of Sarai, Abram's wife? What 
are you doing here ? Where are you going? 

And Hagar said to the angel : 

"I am going away from my mistress Sarai, because I do not 
wish to stay with her and serve her any longer." 

Then the angel said to Hagar : 

"Go back to your mistress Sarai, and submit to her, for it is 
better for you than to go away. God knows all your troubles, for he 
sees you and hears you, and he will help you. By and by you shall 
have a son, and you shall call his name Ishmael, because God has 
heard you." 

The word Ishmael means "God hears." So whenever Hagar 
should speak her boy's name, she would think "God has heard me." 

Then the angel told Hagar that her son Ishmael should be strong 
and fierce, and that no one should be able to overcome him, or his 
children, or his descendants, those who should come after him. 

So Hagar was comforted, and went back again to serve. Sarai. 

(59) 



6o 



The Angel by the Well 



And afterward the well where she saw the angel was called by a 
name which means "The well of the Living One who sees me." 
And after this, Hagar had a son; and as the angel told her, she 
called his name Ishmael; that is, "God hears." We shall read 
more about Hagar and Ishmael a little later. After this, while 
Abram was living near Hebron, the Lord came to him again and spoke 
to him, while Abram bowed with his face to the ground. God said : 
" I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be perfect; and 
I will make you a father of 
many nations. And your 
name shall be changed. 
You shall no more be called 
Abram, but Abraham, a 
word that means "Father 




HAGAR BY THE SPRING OF WATER 



of a multitude," because you shall be the father of many nations 
of people. And your wife's name shall also be changed. She shall 
no more be called Sarai, but Sarah; that is, "princess." And you 
and Sarah shall have a son, and you shall call his name Isaac ; and 
he shall have sons when he becomes a man, and his descendants, 
those who spring from him, shall be very many people." So from 
this time he was no longer Abram, but Abraham, and his wife was 
called Sarah. 



Story (EigljL 



THE RAIN OF FIRE THAT FELL ON A 

CITY. 

Genesis xviii : i, to xix : 30. 




■NE day Abraham, — for we shall call him now by his 
new name, — was sitting in the door of his tent, when 
he saw three men coming toward him. He knew 
from their looks that they were not common men. 
They were angels, and one of them seems to have 
been the Lord God himself, coming in the form of a man. 

When Abraham saw these men coming, he went out to meet 

them, and bowed to them ; and he said to the one who was the leader : 

" My Lord, do not pass by ; but come and rest a little under the 

tree. Let me send for water to wash your feet ; and take some food ; 

and stay with us a little while." 

So this strange person, who was God in the form of a man, sat 
with his two followers in Abraham's tent, under the oak-trees at 
Hebron. They took some food which Sarah, Abraham's wife, made 
ready for them, and then the Lord talked with Abraham. He told 
Abraham again that in a very little time God would send to him and 
Sarah a little boy, whose name should be Isaac. In the language 
that Abraham spoke, the name Isaac means " laughing;" because 
Abraham and Sarah both laughed aloud when they heard it. They 
were so happy that they could scarcely believe the news. 

Then the three persons rose up to go, and two of them went on 
the road which led toward Sodom, down on the plain of Jordan, 
below the mountains. But the one whom Abraham called "My 
Lord" stopped after the others had gone away, and said: 

" Shall I hide from Abraham what I am going to do ? For Abra- 
ham is to be the father of a great people, and all the world shall 
receive a blessing through him. And I know that Abraham will 
teach his children and all those that live with him to obey the will of 

(61) 



62 The Rain of Fire that Fell on a City 

the Lord, and to do right. I will tell Abraham what I am going to 
do. I am going down to the city of Sodom and the other cities 
that are near it, and I am going to see if the city is as bad as it 
seems to be ; for the wickedness of the city is like a cry coming up 
before the Lord. ' ' 

And Abraham knew that Sodom was very wicked, and he feared 
that God was about to destroy it. And Abraham said : 

" Wilt thou destroy the righteous with the wicked, the good with 
the bad, in Sodom? Perhaps there may be fifty good people in the 
city. Wilt thou not spare the city for the sake of fifty good men 
who may be in it ? Shall not the Judge and Ruler of all the earth 
do right?' 

And the Lord said : 

" If I find in Sodom fifty good people, then I will not destroy the 
city, but will spare it for their sake." 

Then Abraham said again : 

"Perhaps I ought not to ask anything more, for I am only a 
common man, talking with the Lord God. But suppose that there 
should be forty-five good people in Sodom, wilt thou destroy the city 
because it needs only five good men to make up the fifty?" 

And the Lord said, " I will not destroy it, if there are forty-five 
good men in it." And Abraham said, " Suppose there are forty good 
people in it,— what then?" And the Lord answered: "I will spare 
the city, if I find in it forty good men." And Abraham said, "O 
Lord, do not be angry, if I ask that if there are thirty good men in 
the city, it may be spared." And the Lord said, " I will not do it, if 
I find thirty good men there. " And Abraham said, " Let me venture 
to ask that thou wilt spare it if twenty are there." The Lord said : 
" I will not destroy it for the sake of twenty good men, if they are 
there." Then Abraham said, " 0, let not the Lord be angry, and I 
will speak only this once more. Perhaps there may be ten good 
men found in the city. ' ' And the Lord said, " If I find ten good men 
in Sodom, I will spare the city." 

And Abraham had no more to say. The Lord in the form of a 
man went on his way toward Sodom ; and Abraham turned back, and 
went to his tent. 

You remember that Lot, the nephew of Abraham, chose the 
land of Sodom for his home (Story Five), and lived there, though the 
people were so wicked. You remember, too, how Lot was carried 



Trying to Find Good Men 



63 



away captive when Sodom was taken by its enemies, and how 
he was rescued by Abram. (Story Six.) But after all that had 
happened, Lot went to live in Sodom again; and he was there 
when the angels came to Abraham's tent, as we read in the last 
story. 

Two of the angels who had visited Abraham went down to 
Sodom, and walked through the city, trying to find some good men ; 
for if they could find only ten, the city would be saved. But the 
only good man whom they could find was Lot, He took the angels, 









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SODOM AND GOMORRAH BURNED UP. 

who looked like men, into his house, and treated them kindly, and 
made a supper for them. 

The men of Sodom, when they found that strangers were in 
Lot's house, came before the house in the street, and tried to take the 
two men out that they might do them harm, so wicked and cruel 
were they. But the men of Sodom could do nothing against them, 
for when they tried to break open the door, and Lot was greatly 
frightened, the two angels struck all those wicked men blind in a 
moment, so that they could not see, and felt around in the dark for 
the door. 



64 The Rain of Fire that Fell on a City 

Then the angels said to Lot : 

" Have you here any others besides yourself, any sons, or sons- 
in-law, or daughters? Whomever you have, get them out of this 
city quickly, for we are here to destroy this place, because it is so 
very wicked." 

Then Lot went to the houses where the young men lived who 
had married some of his daughters, and said to them : 

" Hurry, and get out of this place, for the Lord will destroy it." 

But his sons-in-law, the husbands of his daughters, would not 
believe his words ; they only laughed at him. What a mistake it 
was for Lot to live in a wicked city, where his daughters were married 
to young men living there ! 

And when the morning was coming, the two angels tried to make 
poor Lot hasten away. They said : 

" Rise up quickly, and take your wife, and your two daughters 
that are here. If vou do not haste, you will be destroyed with the 
city." 

But Lot was slow to leave his house, and his married daughters, 
and all that he had; and the two angels took hold of him, and of his 
wife, and his two daughters; and the angels dragged them out: of the 
city. God was good to Lot, to take him out of the city before it was 
destroyed. 

And when they had brought Lot and his wife and his daughters 
out of the city, one of the angels said to him : 

'"Escape for your life; do not look behind you; do not stop 
anywhere in the plain; climb up the mountain, or you may be 
destroyed! " 

And Lot begged the angels not to send him so far away. He 
said, " O my Lord, I cannot climb the mountain. Have mercy upon 
me, and let me go to that little city that lies yonder. It is only a 
little city, and you can spare it. Please to let me be safe there." 

And the angel said, " We will spare that city for your sake ; 
and we will wait until you are safe before we destroy these other 
cities." 

So Lot ran to the little city, and there he found safety. In the 
language of that time, the word "Zoar" means little; so that city 
was afterward called Zoar. It was the time of sunrise when Lot 
came to Zoar. 

Then, as soon as Lot and his family were safely out of Sodom, 



The Boy Who Became an Archer 65 

the Lord caused a rain of fire to fall upon Sodom and the other cities 
on the plain. With the fire came great clouds of sulphur smoke, 
covering all the plain. So the cities were destroyed, and all the 
people in them; not one man or woman or child was left. 

While Lot and his daughters were flying from the city, Lot's 
wife stopped, and looked back ; and she became a pillar of salt, stand- 
ing there upon the plain. Lot and his two daughters escaped, but 
they were afraid to stay in the little city of Zoar. They climbed up 
the mountain, away from the plain, and found a cave, and there they 
lived. So Lot lost his wife, and all that he had, because he had 
made his home among the wicked people of Sodom. 

And when Abraham, from his tent door on the mountain, looked 
down toward the plain, the smoke was rising from it, like the smoke 
of a great furnace. 

And that was the end of the cities of the plain, Sodom, and 
Gomorrah, and the other cities with them. Zoar alone was saved, 
because Lot, a gqpd man, prayed for it. 



Story nine. 



THE BOY WHO BECAME AN ARCHER. 

Genesis xxi : i to 21. 




tFTER Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed, Abraham 
moved his tent and his camp away from that part of 
the land, and went to live near a place called Gerar, 
in the southwest, not far from the Great Sea. And 
there at last, the child whom God had promised to 
Abraham and Sarah was born, when Abraham his father was a 
hundred years old. 

They named this child Isaac, as the angel had told them he 

I 



66 



The Boy Who Became an Archer 



r ** 



should be named. And Abraham and Sarah were so happy to have 
a little boy, that after a time they gave a great feast to all the people, 
in honor of the little Isaac. 

You remember the story about Sarah's maid Hagar, the Egyp- 
tian woman, and how she ran away from her mistress, and saw an 

angel by a well, and afterward 
came back to Sarah, and had 
a child whose name was Ish- 
mael (Story Seven). So now 
there were two boys in Abra- 
ham's tent, the older boy, Ish- 
mael, the son of Hagar, and 
the younger boy, Isaac, the 
son of Abraham and Sarah. 

Ishmael did not like the 
little Isaac, and did not treat 
him kindly. This made his 
mother Sarah very angry, and 
she said to her husband : 

"I do not wish to have 
this boy Ishmael growing up 
with my son Isaac. Send 
away Hagar and her boy, for 
they are a trouble to me." 

And Abraham felt very 
sorry to have trouble come 
between Sarah and Hagar, 
and between Isaac and Ish- 
mael ; for Abraham was a kind 
and good man, and he was 
friendly to them all. 

But the Lord said to 
Abraham, " Do not be troubled about Ishmael and his mother. Do 
as Sarah has asked you to do, and send them away. It is best that 
Isaac should be left alone in your tent, for he is to receive every- 
thing that is yours. I the Lord will take care of Ishmael, and 
will make a great people of his descendants, those who shall come 
from him." 

So the next morning, Abraham sent Hagar and her boy away, 







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HAGAR GOES INTO THE WILDERNESS. 



Lost in the Desert 



6 7 



expecting them to go back to the land of Egypt, from which Hagar 
had come. He gave them some food for the journey, and a bottle of 
water to drink by the way. The bottles in that country were not 
like ours, made of glass. They were made from the skin of a goat, 
sewed tightly together. One of these skin bottles Abraham filled 
with water, and gave to Hagar. 

And Hagar went away from Abraham's tent, leading her little 
boy. But in some way she lost the road, and wandered over the 





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HAGAR AND HER LITTLE BOY IN THE DESERT 

desert, not knowing where she was, until all the water in the bottle 
was used up ; and her poor boy, in the hot sun and the burning 
sand, had nothing to drink. She thought that he would die of his 
terrible thirst, and she laid him down under a little bush ; and then 
she went away, for she said to herself : 

" I cannot bear to look at my poor boy suffering and dying for 
want of water." 

And just at that moment, while Hagar was crying, and her boy 
was moaning with thirst, she heard a voice saying to her : 

"Hagar, what is your trouble? Do not be afraid. God has 



68 How an Angel's Voice Saved a Boy's Life 

heard your cry, and the cry of your child. ' God will take care of you 
both, and will make of your boy a great nation of people." 

It was the voice of an angel from heaven ; and then Hagar 
looked, and there close at hand was a spring of water in the desert. 
How glad Hagar was, as she filled the bottle with water, and took it 
to her suffering boy under the bush ! 

After this, Hagar did not go dgwn to Egypt. She found a place 
near this spring, where she lived and brought up her son in the 
wildeness, far from other people. And God was with Ishmael, and 
cared for him. And Ishmael grew up in the desert, and learned to 
shoot with the bow and arrow. He became a wild man, and his 
children after him grew up to be wild men also. They were the 
Arabians of the desert, who even to this day have never been ruled 
by any other people, but wander through the desert and live as they 
please. So Ishmael came to be the father of many people, and his 
descendants, the wild Arabians of the desert, are living unto this 
day in that land, just as the Jews, who are the descendants of Isaac, 
are living all over the world. 



Story Cert, 



HOW AN ANGEL'S VOICE SAVED A BOY'S 

LIFE. 

Genesis xxii : i, toxxiii: 20. 




,0U remember that in those times of which we are 
telling, when men worshipped God, they built an 
altar of earth or of stone, and laid an offering upon 
it, as a gift to God. The offering was generally a 
sheep, or a goat, or a, young Ox, some animal that 
was used for food. Such an offering was called "a sacrifice." 

But the people who worshipped idols often did what seems 







L— 




ABRAHAM AND ISAAC ON MOUNT MORIAH 



God's Strange Command to Abraham 69 

to us very strange and very terrible. They thought that it would 
please their gods, if they would offer as a sacrifice the most precious 
living things that were their own ; and they would take their own 
little children and kill them upon their altars as offerings to the 
gods of wood and stone, that were no real gods, but only images. 

God wished to show to Abraham, and all his descendants, 
those who should come after him, that he was not pleased with 
such offerings as those of living people, killed on the altars. And 
God took a way to teach Abraham, so that he and his children 
after him would never forget it. Then at the same time he wished 
to see how faithful and obedient Abraham would be to his commands ; 
how fully Abraham would trust in God, or as we should say, how 
great was Abraham's faith in God. 

So God gave to Abraham a command which he did not mean 
to have obeyed, though this he did not tell to Abraham. He said: 

"Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love so 
greatly, and go to the land of Moriah ; and there, on a mountain 
that I will show you, offer him for a burnt offering to me." 

Though this command rilled Abraham's heart with pain, yet 
he would not be as surprised to receive it as a father would in our 
day; for such offerings were very common among all those people 
in the land where Abraham lived. Abraham never for one moment 
doubted or disobeyed God's word. He knew that Isaac was the 
child whom God had promised, and that God had promised, too, 
that Isaac should have children, and that those coming from Isaac 
should be a great nation. He did not see how God could keep 
his promise with regard to Isaac, if Isaac should be killed as an 
offering: unless, indeed, God should raise him up from the dead 
afterward. But Abraham undertook at once to obey God's command. 
He took two young men with him, and an ass laden with wood 
for the fire; and he went toward the mountain in the north, Isaac 
his son walking by his side. For two days they walked, sleeping 
under the trees at night in the open country. And on the third 
day, Abraham saw the mountain far away. And as they drew 
near to the mountain, Abraham said to the young men: 

"Stay here with the ass, while I go up yonder mountain with 
Isaac to worship; and when we have worshipped, we will come 
back to you." 

For Abraham believed that in some way God would bring 



/o How an Angel's Voice Saved a Boy's Life 



back Isaac to life. He took the wood from the ass, and placed 
it on Isaac, and the two walked up the mountain together. As 
they were walking Isaac said, " Father, here is the wood, but where 
is the lamb for the offering?" And Abraham said, "My son, God 

will provide 
himself the 
lamb." 

And they 
came to the 
place on the 
top of the 
mountain. 
There Abra- 
ham built an 
altar of stones 
and earth 
heaped up, 
and on it he 
placed the 
wood. Then 
he tied the 
hands and the 
feet of Isaac, 
and laid him 
on the wood 
on the altar. 
And Abraham 
lifted up his 
hand, holding a 
knife to kill his 




Abraham! Abraham!' 



son. A mo- 



ment longer, 
and Isaac would be slain by his own father's hand. But just at 
that moment the angel of the Lord out of heaven called to Abra- 
ham, and said, "Abraham! Abraham!" And Abraham answered, 
"Here I am, Lord." Then the angel of the Lord said: 

"Do not lay your hand upon your son. Do no harm to him. 
Now I know that you love God more than you love your only son, 
and that you are obedient to God, since you are ready to give up 



The Offering Provided 71 

your son, your only son, to God." What a relief and a joy these 
words from heaven brought to the heart of Abraham! How glad 
he was to know that it was not God's will for him to kill his son! 
Then Abraham looked around, and there in the thicket was a ram, 
caught by his horns. And Abraham took the ram, and offered him 
up for a burnt offering in place of his son. So Abraham's words 
came true, when he said that God would provide for himself a 
lamb. The place where this altar was built Abraham named 
Jehovah-jireh, words meaning, in the language that Abraham 
spoke, "The Lord will provide." 

This offering, which seems so strange, did much good. It 
showed to Abraham, and to Isaac also, that Isaac belonged to God, 
for to God he had been offered ; and in Isaac, all those who should 
come from him, his descendants, had been given to God. Then it 
showed to Abraham, and to all the people after him, that God did 
not wish children or men killed as offerings for worship ; and while 
all the people around offered such sacrifices, the Israelites, who 
came from Abraham and from Isaac, never offered them, but offered 
oxen and sheep and goats instead. And it looked onward to a time 
when, just as Abraham gave his son as an offering, God should give 
his Son Jesus Christ to die for the sins of the world. All this was 
taught in this act of worship on Mount Moriah. 

Some think that on the very place where this offering was 
given, the altar in the temple many years afterward stood on Mount 
Moriah. If that be true, the rock is still there, and over it is a 
building called "The Dome of the Rock." Many people now visit 
this rock under the dome, and think of what took place there so 
long ago. At this time Abraham was living at a place called Beer- 
sheba, on the border of the desert, south of the land of Canaan. From 
Beersheba he took this journey to Mount Moriah, and to Beersheba 
he came again after the offering on the mountain. Beersheba was 
the home of Abraham during most of his later years. After a time, 
Sarah, the wife of Abraham and the mother of Isaac, died, being 
one hundred and twenty years old. And Abraham bought of the 
people of Hebron a cave, called the cave of Machpelah ; and there 
he buried Sarah his wife. This place is still known as the city of 
Hebron, but the people who live there will not allow any strangers 
to visit it. 



Story <2Uvm. 



THE STORY OF A JOURNEY AFTER 

A WIFE. 

Genesis xxiv : i, to xxv : 18. 




FTER the death of Sarah, Isaac, her son, was lonely; 
and as he was now old enough to marry, Abraham 
sought a wife for him; for in those countries the 
parents have always chosen the wives for their sons, 
and husbands for their daughters. Abraham did not 
wish Isaac to marry any woman of the people in the land where he 
was living, for they were all worshippers of idols, and would not 
teach their children the ways of the Lord. For the same reason, 
Abraham did not settle in one place, and build for himself and his 
people a city. By moving from place to place, Abraham kept his 
people apart. 

You remember that when Abraham made his long journey 
to the land of Canaan (see Story Five), he stayed for a time at a 
place called Haran, in Mesopotamia, between the two rivers Tigris 
and Euphrates, far to the northeast of Canaan. When Abraham 
left Haran to go to Canaan, his brother Nahor and his family stayed 
in Haran. They worshipped the Lord, as Abraham and his family 
did; and Abraham thought that it would be well to find among 
them a wife for his son Isaac. 

As Abraham could not leave his own land of Canaan and go 
to Haran in Mesopotamia to find a wife for his son Isaac, he called 
his chief servant, Eliezer, the man whom he trusted, who cared for 
all his flocks and cattle, and who ruled over his other servants, and 
sent him to Haran to find a wife for his son Isaac. 

And the servant took ten camels, and many presents and 
went on a long journey, and at last came to the city of 
Haran, where the family of Nahor, the brother of Abraham, was 
living. And at the well, just outside of the city, at the time of 
evening, he made his camels kneel down. Then the servant prayed 

(72) 



The Girl at the Well 



73 



to the Lord that he would send to him just the right young woman 
to be the wife of his master's son Isaac. 

And just as the servant was praying, a beautiful young 








ABRAHAM S SERVANT MEETING REBEKAH 
AT THE WELL. 




woman came to the well, with 
her pitcher upon her shoulder. 
As she drew the water and 
filled her pitcher, the servant 
came up and bow r ed to her, 
and said, " Will you kindly give 
me a drink of water from your 
pitcher?" 

And she said, "Drink, my 
lord," and she held her pitcher 
for him to drink. And then 
she said, " I will draw some water for your camels also to drink." 

And she emptied her pitcher into the trough by the well, anc) 
drew more water, until she had given drink to all the camelg. 



74 Story of a Journey After a Wife 

And the servant of Abraham looked at her, and wondered 
whether she might be the right woman for Isaac to marry. And 
he said to her, " Will you tell me your name, young lady, and whose 
daughter you are ? And do you suppose that I could find a place 
to stay at your father's house? " And then he gave her a gold ring 
and gold bracelets for her wrists. And the beautiful young woman 
said, "My name is Rebekah; and my father is Bethuel, who is the 
son of Nahor. You can- come right to our house. We have room 
for you, and a place and food for your camels." 

Then the man bowed his head and thanked God, for he saw 




ABRAHAM S SERVANT SHOWS THE PRESENTS. 

that his prayer was answered, since this kind and lovely young 
woman was a cousin to Isaac, his master's son. And he told Rebekah 
that he was the servant of Abraham, who was so near a relative to 
her own family. 

Then Rebekah ran home and told her parents of the stranger, 
and showed them the presents that he had given to her. And her 
brother Laban went out to the man, and brought him into the 
house, and found a place for his camels. And they washed his feet, 



Gifts for the Bride 



IS 



r 



for that was the custom of the land, where people did not wear shoes, 
but sandals : and they set the table for a supper, and asked him to 
sit down and eat with them. But the man said, "I will not eat 
until I have told my errand.' ' 

After this he told them all about Abraham's riches: and how 
Abraham had sent him to Haran to find a wife for Isaac, his 
son ; and how he had met Rebekah, and felt 
sure that Rebekah was the one whom the 
Lord would choose for Isaac's wife : and then 
he asked that they would give him Rebekah 
to be taken home to be married to Isaac. 
When he had told his errand, Laban, 
Rebekah's brother, and 
Bethuel, her father, said, 
"This comes from the 
Lord; it is his will; and 
it is not for us to oppose 
it. Here is Rebekah; 
take her, and let her be 
the wife of your master's 
son, for the Lord has 
shown it to be his will." 
Then Abraham's 
servant gave rich pre- 
sents to Rebekah, and to 
her mother, and her 
brother Laban. And that 
night they had a feast, 
with great joy. And the 
next morning Abraham V ; 
servant said, "Now I must go home to my master." But they 
said, " O, not so soon! Let Rebekah stay with us for a few days, 
ten days at least, before she goes away from her home." 

And he said to them, " Do not hinder me; since God has given 
me what I came for, I must go back to my master." 

And they called Rebekah, and asked her, "Will you go with 
this man?" And she said, "I will go." 

So the servant of Abraham went away, and took with him 
Rebekah, with good wishes, and blessings, and prayers, from al} 




HE GAVE HER GOLD BRACELETS AND A 
GOLD RING. 



76 How Jacob Stole His Brother's Blessing 

in her father's house. And after a long journey, they came to the 
place where Abraham and Isaac were living. And when Isaac saw 
Rebekah, he loved her ; and she became his wife, and they were 
faithful to each other as long as they both lived. 

Afterward Abraham, great and good man that he was, died, 
almost a hundred and eighty years old. And Isaac and Ishmael 
buried Abraham in the cave where Abraham had buried Sarah at 
Hebron. Then Isaac became the owner of all the riches of Abra- 
ham, his tents, and flocks of sheep, and herds of cattle, and 
camels, and servants. Isaac was a peaceful, quiet man. He did 
not move his tents often, as his father had done, but stayed in 
one place nearly all his life. 



Story Ctt>elt>e« 



HOW JACOB STOLE HIS BROTHER'S 
BLESSING. 

Genesis xxv : 27, to xxvii : 46. 




FTER Abraham died, his son Isaac lived in the land of 
Canaan. Like his father, Isaac's home was a tent ; and 
around him were the tents of his people, and many 
flocks of sheep and herds of cattle feeding wherever 
they could find grass to eat and water to drink. 
Isaac and his wife Rebekah had two children. The older 
was named Esau and the younger Jacob. Esau was a man of the 
woods, and fond of hunting; and he was rough, and covered with 
hair. Even as a boy he was fond of hunting with his bow and 
arrow. Jacob was quiet and thoughtful, staying at home, and caring 
for ,the flocks of his father. Isaac loved Esau more than Jacob, 
because Esau brought to his father that which he had killed in his 



Esau the Hunter 



77 



hunting; but Rebekah liked Jacob, because she saw that he was 
wise and careful in his work. 

Among the people in those lands, when a man dies, his older 
son receives twice as much as the younger of what the father has 
owned. This was called his " birthright," for it was his right as 
the oldest born. So Esau, as the older, had a "birthright" to more 
of Isaac's pos- 
sessions than 
Jacob. And 
besides this, 
there was the 
privilege of the 
promise of God 
that the family 
of Isaac should 
receive great 
blessings. 

Now Esau, 
when he grew 
up, did not 
c a re for his 
birthright o r 
the blessing 
which God had 
promised. But 
Jacob, who was 
a wise man, 
wished greatly 
to have the 
b ir t hrrgh t 
which would 
come to Esau 
when his father 
died. Once, esau was fond of hunting. 

when Esau 

came home, hungry and tired from hunting in the fields, he saw 
that Jacob had a bowl of something that he had just cooked for 
dinner. And Esau said: "Give me some of that red stuff in the 
dish. Will you not give me some? 1 am hungry." 




78 How Jacob Stole His Brother's Blessing 

And Jacob answered, " I will give it to you, if you will first 
of all sell to me your birthright." 

And Esau said, " What is the use of the birthright to me now 
when I am almost starving to death? You can have my birth- 
right if you will give me something to eat." 

Then Esau made Jacob a solemn promise to give to Jacob his 
birthright, all for a bowl of food. It was not right for Jacob to 
deal so selfishly with his brother; but it was very wrong in Esau 
to care so little for his birthright, and with it God's blessing. 

Some time after this, when Esau was forty years old, he married 
two wives. Though this would be very wicked in our times it 
was not supposed to be wrong then; for even good men then had 
more than one wife. But Esau's two wives were women from the 
people of Canaan, who worshipped idols, and not the true God. 
And they taught their children also to pray to idols, so that those 
who came from Esau, the people who were his descendants, lost 
all knowledge of God, and became very wicked. But this was 
long after that time. 

Isaac and Rebekah were very sorry to have their son Esau 
marry women who prayed to idols and not to God ; but still Isaac 
loved his active son Esau more than his quiet son Jacob. 

Isaac became at last very old and feeble, and so blind that he 
could see scarcely anything. One day he said to Esau : 

"My son, I am very old, and do not know how soon I must 
die. But before I die, I wish to give to you, as my older son, 
God's blessing upon you, and your children, and your descendants. 
Go out into the fields, and with your bow and arrows shoot some 
animal that is good for food, and make me a dish of cooked meat, 
such as you know I love; and after I have eaten it, I will give 
you the blessing. 

Esau ought to have told his father that the blessing did not 
belong to him, for he had sold it to his brother Jacob. But he did 
not tell his father. He went out into the fields hunting, to find 
the kind of meat which his father liked the most. 

Now Rebekah was listening, and heard all that Isaac had said 
to Esau. She knew that it would be better for Jacob to have the 
blessing than for Esau; and she loved Jacob more than Esau. So 
she called to Jacob, and told him what Isaac had said to Esau, and 
she said: 



A Wife Deceiving Her Husband 



79 



" Now, my son, do what I tell you and you will get the blessing 
instead of your brother. Go to the flocks and bring to me two 
little kids from the goats : and I will cook them just like the meat 
which Esau cooks for your father. And you will bring it to your 




HIS BIRTHRIGHT FOR A MEAL. 



father; and he will think that you are Esau, and will give you the 
blessing; and it really belongs to you." 

But Jacob said, "You know that Esau and I are not alike. 
His neck and arms are covered with hair, while mine are smooth. 
My father will feel of me, and he will find that I am not Esau ; and 
then, instead of giving me a blessing, I am afraid that he will curse 
me. 



8o How Jacob Stole His Brother's Blessing 



But Rebekah answered her son, "Never mind, you do as I 
have told you, and I will take care of you. If any harm comes, 
it will come to me; so do not be afraid, but go and bring the meat." 

Then Jacob went and brought a pair of little kids from the 

flock, and 
from them 
his mother 
made a dish 
of food, so 
that it 
would be 
to the taste 
just as Isaac 
liked it. 
Then Rebe- 
kah found 
some of 
Esau's 
clothes, and 
dressed Ja- 
cob in them; 
and she 
placed on 
his neck 
and his 
hands some 
of the skins 
of the kids, 
so that his 
neck and 
hands would 
feel rough 
and hairy to 
the touch. 

Then Jacob came into his father's tent, bringing the dinner, 
and speaking as much like Esau as he could, he said: 

"Here I am, my father." 

And Isaac said, "Who are you, my son?" 

And Jacob answered, "I am Esau, your oldest son. I have 




ISAAC BLESSES JACOB. 



Esau Loses the Blessing 81 

done as you bade me; now sit up, and eat the dinner that I have 
made; and then give me your blessing, as you promised me." 

And Isaac said, " How is it that you found it so quickly? " 

Jacob answered, " Because the Lord your God showed me where 
to go, and gave me good success." 

Isaac did not feel certain that it was his son Esau, and he said, 
"Come nearer and let me feel you, so that I may know that you 
are really my son Esau." 

And Jacob went up close to Isaac's bed, and Isaac felt of his 
face, and his neck, and his hands, and he said: 

"The voice sounds like Jacob, but the hands are the hands 
of Esau. Are you really my son Esau?" 

And Jacob again told a lie to his father, and said, " I am." 

Then the old man ate the food that Jacob had brought to him, 
and he kissed Jacob, believing him to be Esau, and he gave him 
the blessing, saying to him : 

"May God give you the dew of heaven, and the richness of 
the earth, and plenty of grain and wine. May nations bow down 
to you and people become your servants. May you be the master 
over your brother; and may your family and descendants that 
shall come from you rule over his family and his descendants. 
Blessed be those that bless you, and cursed be those that curse you." 

Just as soon as Jacob had received the blessing he rose up and 
hastened away. He had scarcely gone out, when Esau came in 
from his hunting, with the dish of food that he had cooked, and 
he said: 

" Let my father sit up, and eat the food that I have brought, 
and give me the blessing." 

And Isaac said, "Why, who are you?" 

Esau answered, "I am your son, your oldest son Esau." 

And Isaac trembled and said, " Who then is the one that came 
in, and brought to me food? And I have eaten his food, and have 
blessed him; yes, and he shall be blessed." 

When Esau heard this he knew that he had been cheated; 
and he cried aloud, with a bitter cry, "0 my father, my brother 
has taken away my blessing, just as he took away my birthright! 
But cannot you give me another blessing, too? Have you given 
everything to my brother? And Isaac told him all that he had 
said to Jacob 

6 



82 How Jacob Stole His Brother's Blessing 

He said, " I have told him that he shall be the ruler, and that 
all his brothers and their children will be under him. I have 
promised him the richest ground for his crops, and rains from 
heaven to make them grow. All these things have been spoken, 
and they must come to pass. What is left for me to promise you, 
my son ? ' ' 

But Esau begged for another blessing, and Isaac said : 

"My son, your dwelling shall be of the riches of the earth, 
and of the dew of heaven. You shall live by your sword, and your 
descendants shall serve his descendants. But in time to come 
they shall break loose, and shall shake off the yoke of your brother's 
rule, and shall be free." 

All this came to pass many years afterward. The people who 
came from Esau lived in a land called Edom, on the south of the 
land of Israel, where Jacob's descendants lived. And after a time 
the Israelites became rulers over the Edomites ; and, later still, the 
Edomites made themselves free from the Israelites. But all this 
took place hundreds of years after both Esau and Jacob had passed 
away. The blessing of God's covenant or promise came to Israel, 
and not to the people from Esau. 

It was better that Jacob's descendants, those who came after 
him, should have the blessing, than that Esau's people should 
have it; for Jacob's people worshipped God, and Esau's people 
walked in the way of the idols, and became wicked. But it was 
very wrong in Jacob to obtain the blessing in the way that he 
obtained it. 



Story Cfyirteen. 



JACOB'S WONDERFUL DREAM. 

Genesis xxvii : 46, to xxx : 24. 




,FTER Esau found that he had lost his birthright and 
his blessing, he was very angry against his brother 
Jacob; and he said to himself, and told others, "My 
father Isaac is very old, and cannot live long. As 
soon as he is dead, then I shall kill Jacob for having 
robbed me of my right." 

When Rebekah heard this, she said to Jacob, " Before it is too 
late, do you go away from home, and get out of Esau's sight. Per- 
haps when Esau sees you no longer, he will forget his anger; and 
then you can come home again. Go and visit my brother Laban, 
your uncle, in Haran, and stay with him for a little while, until 
Esau's anger is past." 

You remember that Rebekah came from the family of Nahor, 
Abraham's younger brother, who lived in Haran, a long distance to 
the northeast of Canaan; and that Laban was Rebekah's brother, 
as was told in Story Eleven. 

So Jacob went out of Beersheba, on the border of the desert, 
and walked alone tow T ard a land far to the north, carrying his staff 
in his hand. One evening, just about sunset, he came to a place 
among the mountains, more than sixty miles distant from his home. 
And as he had no bed to lie down upon, he took a stone and rested 
his head upon it for a pillow, and lay down to sleep. We would 
think that a hard pillow, but Jacob was tired, and soon fell 
asleep. 

And on that night Jacob had a wonderful dream. In his dream 
he saw stairs leading up to heaven from the earth where he lay ; and 
angels were coming down and going up upon the stairs. And above 
the stairs, he saw the Lord God standing. And God said to 
Jacob : 

"I am the Lord, the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac 
your father; and I will be your God, too. The land where you are 

(*3J 



8 4 



Jacob's Wonderful Dream 



lying all alone, shall belong to you and to your children after you ; 
and your children shall spread abroad over the lands, east, and west, 
and north, and south, like the dust of the earth: and in your family 
all the world shall receive a blessing. And I am with you in your 
journey, and I will keep you where you are going, and will bring 

you back to this 
land. I will never 
leave you, and I 
will surely keep 
my promise to 
you." 

And in the 
morning Jacob 
awaked from his 
sleep, and he said, 
"Surely the Lord 
is in this place and 
I did not know 
it! I thought 
that I was all 
alone, but God 
has been with me. 
This place is the 
house of God; it 
is the gate of 
heaven!" 

And Jacob 
took the stone on 
which his head 
had rested, and he 
set it up as a pil- 
lar, and poured oil 
on it as an offer- 
ing to God. And 
Jacob named that place Bethel, which in the language that Jacob 
spoke means "The House of God." 

And Jacob made a promise to God at that time, and said : 
"If God really will go with me, and will keep me in the way 
that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and will bring me to my 




Jacob's wonderful dream. 



The Deceiver is Deceived 85 

father's house in peace, then the Lord shall be my God; and this 
stone shall be the house of God ; and of all that God gives me, I will 
give back to God one-tenth as an offering. ' ' 

Then Jacob went onward in his long journey. He waded across 
the river Jordan in a shallow place, feeling the way with his staff ; 
he climbed mountains, and journeyed beside the great desert on the 
east, and at last he came to the city of Haran. Beside the city was 
the well, where Abraham's servant had met Jacob's mother, Rebekah 
(see Story Eleven) ; and there, after Jacob had waited for a time, 
he saw a young woman coming with her sheep, to give them water. 

Then Jacob took off the flat stone that was over the mouth of 
the well, and drew water, and gave it to the sheep. And when he 
found that this young woman was his own cousin Rachel, the 
daughter of Laban, he was so glad that he wept for joy. And at 
that moment he began to love Rachel, and longed to have her for 
his wife. 

Rachel's father, Laban, who was Jacob's uncle, the brother of 
Rebekah, Jacob's mother, gave a welcome to Jacob, and took him 
into his home. 

And Jacob asked Laban if he would give his daughter Rachel 
to him as his wife; and Jacob said, " If you will give me Rachel, I 
will work for you seven years." And Laban said, "It is better that 
you should have her than that a stranger should marry her." 

So Jacob lived seven years in Laban's house, caring for his 
sheep and oxen and camels ; and such was his love for Rachel that 
the seven years seemed like a few days. 

At last the day came for the marriage ; and they brought in the 
bride, who after the manner of that land was covered with a thick 
veil, so that her face could not be seen. And she was married to 
Jacob; and when Jacob lifted up her veil, he found that he had 
married, not Rachel whom he loved, but her older sister Leah, who 
was not beautiful, and whom Jacob did not love at all. 

Jacob was very angry that he had been deceived, though that 
was just the way in which Jacob himself had deceived his father and 
cheated his brother Esau (see Story Twelve) . But his uncle Laban 
said: 

" In our land we never allow the younger daughter to be mar- 
ried before the older daughter. Keep Leah for your wife, and work 
for me seven years longer, and you shall have Rachel also." 



86 A Midnight Wrestling Match 

m 

For in those times, as we have seen, men often had two wives, 
or even more than two. No one thought that it' was wrong then to 
have more than one wife, although now it is considered very wicked. 
So Jacob stayed seven years more, fourteen years in all, before he 
received Rachel as his wife. 

While Jacob was living at Haran, eleven sons were born to him 
But only one of these was the child of Rachel, whom Jacob loved. 
This son was Joseph, who was dearer to Jacob than any other of his 
children, partly because he was the youngest, and also because he 
was the child of his beloved Rachel. 



Story fourteen* 



A MIDNIGHT WRESTLING MATCH 

Genesis xxx : 25, to xxxiii : 20. 




ACOB stayed a long time in the land of Haran, much 
longer than he had expected to stay. And in that 
land Jacob became rich. As wages for his work with 
Laban, Jacob took a share of the sheep, and oxen, 
and camels. And since Jacob was very wise and care- 
ful in his work, his share grew larger, until Jacob owned a great 
flock and much cattle. At last, after twenty years, Jacob decided 
to go back to the land of Canaan, and to his father Isaac, who was 
still living, though now very old and feeble. 

Jacob did not tell his uncle Laban that he was going away ; but 
while Laban was absent from home, Jacob gathered together his 
wives, and children, and all his sheep and cattle, and camels, and he 
stole away quietly. When Laban found that Jacob had left him, 
he was not at all pleased ; for he wished Jacob still to care for the 
things that he owned, for Jacob managed them better than Laban 



Jacob Going Back to His Home 87 

himself, and God blessed everything that Jacob undertook. Then, 
too, Laban did not like to have his two daughters, the wives of 
Jacob, taken so far away from him. 

So Laban and the men who were with him followed after Jacob ; 
but that night God spoke to Laban in a dream, and said : 

" Do no harm to Jacob, when you meet him." 

Therefore, when Laban came to where Jacob was in his camp on 
Mount Gilead, on the east of the river Jordan, Laban spoke kindly to 
Jacob. And Jacob and Laban made a covenant, that is a promise 
between them. They piled up a heap of stones, and on it they set 
up a large rock like a pillar ; and beside the heap of stones they ate 
a meal together ; and Jacob said to Laban : 

" I promise not to go past this heap of stones, and this pillar to 
do you any harm. The God of your grandfather, Nahor, and the 
God of my grandfather, Abraham, be the judge between us." 

And Laban made the same promise to Jacob ; and then he kissed 
his daughters, Jacob's two wives, and all of Jacob's children, and 
bade them good-by ; and Laban went back to Haran, and Jacob went 
on to Canaan. 

And Jacob gave two names to the heap of stones where they 
had made the covenant. One name was "Galeed," a word which 
means, "The heap of Witness." The other was "Mizpah," which 
means " Watch-tower." For Jacob said, "The Lord watch between 
you and me, when we are absent from each other." 

While Jacob was going back to Canaan, he heard news that 
filled him with fear. He heard that Esau, his brother, was coming to 
meet him, leading an army of four hundred men. He knew how 
angry Esau had been long before, and how he had threatened to kill 
him. And Jacob feared that Esau would now come upon him, and 
kill, not only Jacob himself, but his wives and his children. If Jacob 
had acted rightly toward his brother, he need not have feared Esau's 
coming; but he knew how he had wronged Esau, and he was terribly 
afraid to meet him. 

That night Jacob divided his company into two parts ; so that 
if one part were taken the other part might escape. And he sent 
onward before him, as a present to his brother, a great drove of oxen 
and cows, and sheep and goats, and camels and asses ; hoping that 
by the present his brother might be made more kind toward him. 
And then Jacob prayed earnestly to the Lord God to help him. 



88 



A Midnight Wrestling Match 



After that he sent all his family across a brock that was in his path, 
called the brook Jabbok, while he stayed alone on the other side of 
the brook to pray again. 

And while Jacob was alone, he felt that a man had taken hold 

of him, and Jacob 




JACOB AND THE 



wrestled with this 
strange man all 
the night. And 
the man was an 
angel from God. 
They wrestled so 
hard, that Ja- 
cob's thigh was 
strained in the 
struggle. And 
the angel said : 

"Let me go, 
for the day is 
breaking." 

And Jacob 
said: 

"I will not 
let thee go until 
thou dost bless 
me." And the 
angel said: 

"What is 
your name?" 

And Jacob 
answered, "Jacob 
is my name." 

Then the 
angel said : 
be called Jacob, but Israel, that 
For vou have wrestled with God 



" Your name shall no more 
is 'He who wrestles with God.' 
and have won the victory." 

And the angel blessed him there. And the sun rose as the angel 
left him; and Jacob gave a name to that place. He called it Peniel, 
or Penuel, words which in the language that Jacob spoke mean 



Esau Forgives Jacob 89 

"The Face of God." "For," said Jacob, "I have met God face to 
face." And after this Jacob was lame, for in the wrestle he had 
strained his thigh. 

And as Jacob went across the brook Jabbok, early in the morn- 
ing, he looked up, and there was Esau right before him. He bowed 
with his face to the ground, over and over again, as people do in 
those lands when they meet some one of higher rank than their own. 
But Esau ran to meet him, and placed his arms around his neck, and 
kissed him ; and the two brothers wept together. Esau was kind and 
generous to forgive his brother all the wrong that he had done ; and 
at first he would not receive Jacob's present, for he said: "I have 
enough, my brother." But Jacob urged him, until at last he took 
the present. And so the quarrel was ended, and the two brothers 
were at peace. 

Jacob came to Shechem, in the middle of the land of Canaan, 
and there he set up his tents; and at the foot of the mountain, 
although there were streams of water all around, he dug his own well, 
great and deep ; the well where Jesus sat and talked with a woman 
many ages after that time; and the well that may be still seen. 
Even now the traveller who visits that place may drink water from 
Jacob's well. 

After this Jacob had a new name, Israel, which means, as we 
have seen, "The one who wrestles with God." Sometimes he was 
called Jacob, and sometimes Israel. And all those who come from 
Israel, his descendants, were called Israelites. 

After this Isaac died, very old, and was buried by his sons Jacob 
and Esau, in the cave at Hebron where Abraham and Sarah were 
buried already . Esau with his children and his cattle went away to 
a land on the southeast of Canaan, which was called Edom. And 
Jacob, or Israel, and his family lived in the land of Canaan dwell- 
ing in tents, and moving from place to place, where they could find 
good pasture, or grass upon which to feed their flocks 



Story fifteen. 



THE RICH MAN'S SON WHO WAS SOLD 

AS A SLAVE. 

Genesis xxxvii : i to 36. 




FTER Jacob came back to the land of Canaan with his 
eleven sons, another son was born to him, the 
second child of his wife Rachel, whom Jacob loved 
so well. You remember we told in Story Thirteen 
how long Jacob worked for Laban caring for his 
sheep and oxen in order that he might have Rachel for his wife. 

But now a great sorrow was to 
come to Jacob, for soon after the 
baby came, his mother Rachel 
died, and Jacob was filled with 
sorrow. Even to this day you 
can see the place where Rachel 
was buried, 
on the road 
between Jeru- 
salem and 
Bethlehem. 
Jacob named 
the child 
whom Rachel 
left, Benja- 
min; and now 
Jacob had 
twelve sons. 
Most of them 
rachel's tomb. • were grown- 

up men, but 
Joseph was a boy, seventeen years old, and his brother Benjamin 
was almost a baby. 

(90) 




92 The Rich Man's Son Sold as a Slave 

Of all his children, Jacob loved Joseph the best, because he 
was Rachel's child, because he was so much younger than most 
of his brothers, and because he was good, and faithful, and thought- 
ful. Jacob gave to Joseph a robe or coat of bright color made 
somewhat like a long cloak with wide sleeves. This was a special 
mark of Jacob's favor to Joseph, and it made his older brothers 
very envious of him. 

Then, too, Joseph did what was right, while his older brothers 
often did very wrong acts, of which Joseph sometimes told their 
father, and this made them very angry at Joseph. But they 
hated him still more because of two strange dreams that he had, 
and of which he told them. He said one day : 

"Listen to this dream that I have dreamed. I dreamed that 
we were out in the field binding sheaves, when suddenly my sheaf 
stood up, and all your sheaves came around it, and bowed down to 
my sheaf." And they said, scornfully, "Do you suppose that the 
dream means that you will some time rule over us, and that we 
shall bow down to you?" Then a few days after Joseph said, "I 
have dreamed again. This time I saw in my dream the sun and 
the moon and eleven stars all come and bow down to me." 

And his father said to him, " I do not like you to dream such 
dreams. Shall I, and your mother, and your brothers, come and 
bow down before you, as if you are a king?" 

His brothers hated Joseph, and would not speak kindly to 
him ; but his father thought much of what Joseph had said. 

At one time, Joseph's ten older brothers were taking care of 
the flock in the fields near Shechem, which was nearly fifty miles 
from Hebron, where Jacob's tents were spread. And Jacob wished 
to send a message to his sons, and he called Joseph, and said to 
him, "Your brothers are near Shechem with the flock. I wish 
that you would go to them, and take a message, and find if they are 
well, and if the flocks are doing well ; and bring me word from them." 

That was quite an errand for a boy to go alone over the country, 
and find his way, for fifty miles, and then walk home again. But 
Joseph was a boy that could take care of himself, and could be 
trusted; so he went forth on his journey, walking northward over 
the mountains, past Bethlehem, and Jerusalem, and Bethel, — 
though we are not sure that any of those cities were then built, 
except Jerusalem, which we know was already a strong city. 



Joseph Thrown Into a Pit 



93 



When Joseph reached Shechem he could not find his brothers, 
for they had taken their flocks to another place. A man met 
Joseph wandering in the field, and asked him, "Whom are you 
seeking?" Joseph said, " I am looking for my brothers, the sons of 
Jacob. Can you tell me where I will find them?" And the man 
said, "They 
are at Dothan; 
for I heard 
them say that 
they were 
going there." 
Then Joseph 
walked over 
the h il 1 s to 
Dothan, which 
was fifteen 
miles further. 
And his broth- 
ers saw h i m 
afar off com- 
ing towards 
them. They 
knew him by 
his bright 
garment ; and 
one said to 
another : 

" Look, 
that dreamer 

is COming! JOSEPH sold by his brothers. 

Come, let us 

kill him, and throw his body into a pit, and tell his father that 
some wild beast has eaten him ; and then we will see what becomes 
of his dreams." 

One of his brothers, whose name was Reuben, felt more kindly 
toward Joseph than the others; but he did not dare to oppose 
the others openly. Reuben said : 

"Let us not kill him; but let us throw him into this pit, here 
in the wilderness, and leave him there to die." 

















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94 The Rich Man's Son Sold as a Slave 

But Reuben intended, after they had gone away, to lift Joseph 
out of the pit, and take him home to his father. The brothers 
did as Reuben told them; they threw Joseph into the pit, which 
was empty. He cried, and begged them to save him, but they 
would not. They calmly sat down to eat their dinner on the 
grass, while their brother was calling to them from the pit. 

After the dinner, Reuben chanced to go to another part of 
the field, so that he was not at hand when a company of men 
passed by with their camels, going from Gilead, on the east of the 
river Jordan, to Egypt, to sell spices and fragrant gum from trees 
to the Egyptians. Then Judah, another of Joseph's brothers said, 
"What good will it do us to kill our brother? Would it not be 
better for us to sell him to these men, and let them carry him away? 
After all, he is our brother, and we would better not kill him. " 

His brothers agreed with him; so they stopped the men who 
were passing, and drew up Joseph from the pit; and for twenty 
pieces of silver, they sold Joseph to these men; and they took 
him away with them down to Egypt. 

After a while, Reuben came to the pit, where he had left 
Joseph, and looked into it; but Joseph was not there. Then 
Reuben was in great trouble, and he came back to his brothers 
saying, "The boy is not there! What shall I do?" 

Then his brothers told Reuben what they had done, and 
they all agreed together to deceive their father. They killed one 
of the goats, and dipped Joseph's coat in its blood, and they 
brought it to their father, and they said to him, "We found this 
coat out in the wilderness. Look at it, and see if you think it was 
your son's." And Jacob knew it at once. He said, "It is my 
son's coat. Some wild beast has eaten him. There is no doubt 
that Joseph has been torn in pieces!" 

And Jacob's heart was broken over the loss of Joseph, all 
the more because he had sent Joseph alone on the journey through 
the wilderness. They tried to comfort him, but he would not 
be comforted. He said: 

" I will go down to the grave mourning for my poor lost son." 

So the old man sorrowed for his son Joseph; and all the time 
his wicked brothers knew that Joseph was not dead; but they 
would not tell their father the dreadful deed that they had done 
to their brother, in selling him as a slave. 



Story Sixteen. 



FROM THE PRISON TO THE PALACE. 

Genesis xl: i,toxli: 44. 




HE men who bought Joseph from his brothers were 
called Ishmaelites, because they belonged to the 
family of Ishmael, who, you remember, was the son 
of Hagar, the servant of Sarah (Story Nine). Thess 
men carried Joseph southward over the plain which 
lies beside the great sea on the west of Canaan; and after many 
days they brought Joseph to Egypt. How strange it must have 
seemed to the boy who had lived in tents, to see the great river 
Nile, and the cities, thronged with people, and the temples, and 
the mighty pyramids! 

The Ishmaelites sold Joseph as a slave to a man named Potiphar, 
who was an officer in the army of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. 
Joseph was a beautiful boy, and cheerful and willing in his spirit, 
and able in all that he undertook; so that his master, Potiphar, 
became very friendly to him, and after a time he placed Joseph 
in charge of his house, and everything in it. For some years Joseph 
continued in the house of Potiphar, a slave in name, but in reality 
the master of all his affairs, and ruler over his fellow-servants. 

But Potiphar's wife, who at first was very friendly to Joseph, 
afterward became his enemy, because Joseph would not do wrong 
to please her. She told her husband falsely that Joseph had done 
a wicked deed. Her husband believed her, and was very angry 
at Joseph, and put him in the prison with those who had been sent 
to that place for breaking the laws of the land. How hard it was 
for Joseph to be charged with a crime, when he had done no wrong, 
and to be thrust into a dark prison among wicked people! 

But Joseph had faith in God, that at some time all would come 
out right : and in the prison he was cheerful, and kind, and helpful, 
as he had always been. The keeper of the prison saw that Joseph 
was not like the other men around him, and he was kind to Joseph. 

(95) 



9 6 



Joseph in the Prison 



In a very little while Joseph was placed in charge of all his fellow- 
prisoners, and took care of them; just as he had taken care of 
everything in Potiphar's house. The keeper of the prison scarcely 
looked into the prison at all, for he had confidence in Joseph, that 
he would be faithful and wise in doing the work given to him. 
Joseph did right, and served God; and God blessed Joseph in 
everything. 

While Joseph was in the prison, two men were sent there by 




A GREAT TEMPLE IN EGYPT. 



the king of Egypt, because he was displeased with them. One 
was the king's chief butler, who served the king with wine; the 
other was the chief baker, who served him with bread. These two 
men were under Joseph's care, and Joseph waited on them, for 
they were men of rank. 

One morning, when Joseph came into the room in the prison 
where the butler and the baker were kept, he found them looking 
quite sad. Joseph said to them: 

"Why do you look so sad to-day?" Joseph was cheerful and 



From the Prison to the Palace 97 

happy in his spirit, and he wished others to be happy, even in 

prison. 

And one of the men said, " Each one of us dreamed last night 
a very strange dream ; and there is no one to tell us what our dreams 
mean." 

For in those times, before God gave the Bible to men, he often 
spoke to men in dreams; and there were wise men, who could 
sometimes tell what the dreams meant. 

"Tell me," said Joseph, "what your dreams were. Perhaps 
my God will help me to understand them." 

Then the chief butler told his dream. He said, " In my dream I 
saw a grape-vine with three branches ; and as I looked the branches 
shot out buds, and the buds became blossoms, and the blossoms 
turned into clusters of ripe grapes. And I picked the grapes, and 
squeezed their juice into King Pharaoh's cup, and it became wine; 
and I gave it to King Pharaoh to drink, just as I used to do when 
I was beside his table." 

Then Joseph said, " This is what your dream means. The 
three branches mean three days. In three days King Pharaoh 
will call you out of prison, and will put you back in your place; 
and you shall stand at his table, and shall give him his wine, as 
you have given it before. But when you go out of prison, please 
to remember me, and try to find some way to get me, too, out of 
this prison. For I was stolen out of the land of Canaan, and sold 
as a slave; and I have done nothing wrong, to deserve being put 
in this prison. Do speak to the king for me, that I may be set free." 

Of course the chief butler felt very happy to hear that his dream 
had so pleasant a meaning ; and then the chief baker spoke, hoping 
to have an answer as good. 

"In my dream," said the baker, "there were three baskets 
of white bread on my head, one above the other, and on the top- 
most basket were all kinds of roasted meat and food for Pharaoh ; 
and the birds came, and ate the food from the baskets on my head." 

And Joseph said to the baker: 

"This is the meaning of your dream, and I am sorry to tell it 
to you. The three baskets are three days. In three days, by order 
of the king, you shall be lifted up, and hanged upon a tree; and 
the birds shall eat your flesh from your bones as you are hanging 
in the air." 

7 



9 8 The Dreams Come True 

And it came to pass, just as Joseph had said. Three days 
after that, King Pharaoh sent his officers to the prison. They 
came and took out both the chief butler and the chief baker. The 
baker they hung up by his neck to die, and left his body for the 
birds to pick in pieces. The chief butler they brought back to 
his old place, where he waited at the king's table, and handed him 
his wine to drink. 

You would have supposed that the butler would remember 
Joseph, who had given him the promise of freedom, and had shown 
such wisdom. But in his gladness, he forgot all about Joseph. 
And two full years passed by, while Joseph was still in prison, until 
he was a man thirty years old. 

But one night, King Pharaoh himself dreamed a dream, in 
fact two dreams in one. And in the morning he sent for all the 
wise men of Egypt, and told them his dreams; but there was 
not a man who could give the meaning of them. And the king 
was troubled, for he felt that the dreams had some meaning, which 
it was important for him to know. 

Then suddenly the chief butler, who was by the king's table, 
remembered his own dream, in the prison two years before, and 
remembered, too, the young man who had told its meaning so 
exactly. And he said: 

"I do remember my faults this day. Two years ago King 
Pharaoh was angry with his servants, with me and the chief baker, 
and he sent us to the prison. While we were in the prison, one 
night each of us dreamed a dream, and the next day a young 
man in the prison, a Hebrew from the land of Canaan, told us 
what our dreams meant; and in three days they came true, just 
as the Hebrew had said. I think that, if this young man is in 
the prison still, he could tell the king the meaning of his dreams." 

You notice that the butler spoke of Joseph as "a Hebrew.' 
The people of Israel, to whom Joseph belonged, were called Hebrews 
as well as Israelites. The word Hebrew means "one who crossed 
over," and it was given to the Israelites, because Abraham their 
father, had come from a land on the other side of the great river 
Euphrates, and had crossed over the river on his way to Canaan. 

Then King Pharaoh sent in haste to the prison for Joseph; 
and Joseph was taken out, and he was dressed in new garments, 
and was led in to Pharaoh in the palace. And Pharaoh said to 



^K.. 



From the Prison to the Palace 



99 



Joseph: "I have dreamed a dream, and there is no one who can 
tell what it means. And I have been told that you have power 
to understand dreams and what they mean." 

And Jo- 
seph an- 
swered Pha- 
raoh: "The 
power is not 
in me ; but 
God will 
give Pha- 
raoh a good 
answer. 
What is the 
dream that 
the king has 
dreamed ? ' ' 

"In my 
first dream," 
said P h a- 
r a o h , "I 
was stand- 
ing by the 
river; and I 
saw seven 
fat and 
handsome 
cows come 
up from the 
river to feed 
in the grass. 
And while 
they were 
feeding, 
seven other 

cows followed them up from the river, very thin, and poor, and 
lean, such miserable creatures as I had never seen. And the seven 
lean cows ate up the seven fat cows ; and after they had eaten 
them, they were as lean and miserable as before. Then I awoke. 




JOSEPH BEFORE PHARAOH. 



Loia 



ioo Joseph Made Ruler 

"And I fell asleep again, and dreamed again. In my second 
dream, I saw seven heads of grain growing upon one stalk, large, 
and strong, and good. And then seven heads came up after 
them, that were thin, and poor, and withered. And the seven 
thin heads swallowed up the seven good heads, and afterward 
were as poor and withered as before. 

"And I told these two dreams to all the wise men, and there 
is no one who can tell me their meaning. Can you tell me what 
these dreams mean?" 

And Joseph said to the king: 

"The two dreams have the same meaning. God has been 
showing to King Pharaoh what he will do in this land. The seven 
good cows mean seven years, and the seven good heads of grain 
mean the same seven years. The seven lean cows, and the seven 
thin heads of grain also mean seven years. The good cows and 
the good grain mean seven years of plenty, and the seven thin 
cows and thin heads of grain mean seven poor years. There are 
coming upon the land of Egypt seven years of such plenty as 
have never been seen; when the fields shall bring greater crops 
than ever before; and after those years shall come seven years 
when the fields shall bring no crops at all. And then for seven 
years there shall be such need, that the years of plenty will be 
forgotten, for the people will have nothing to eat. 

"Now, let King Pharaoh find some man who is able and wise, 
and let him set this man to rule over the land. And during the 
seven years of plenty, let a part of the crops be put away for the 
years of need. If this shall be done, then when the years of need 
come there will be plenty of food for all the people, and no one 
will suffer, for all will have enough." 

And King Pharoah said to Joseph: 

"Since God has shown you all this; there is no other man 
as wise as you. I will appoint you to do this work, and to rule 
over the land of Egypt. All the people shall be under you; only 
on the throne of Egypt, I will be above you." 

And Pharaoh took from his own hand the ring which held 
his seal, and put it on Joseph's hand, so that he could sign for 
the king, and seal in the king's place. And he dressed Joseph 
in robes of fine linen, and put around his neck a gold chain. And 
he made Joseph ride in a chariot which was next in rank to his 




.JOSEPH TELLING PHARAOH THE MEANING OF HIS DREAM 



102 How Joseph's Dream Came True 

own. And they cried out before Joseph, "Bow the knee." And 
thus Joseph was ruler over all the land of Egypt. 

So the slave boy, who was sent to prison without deserving 
it, came out of prison to be a prince and a master over all the land. 
You see that God had not forgotten Joseph, even when he seemed 
to have left him to suffer. 



Story Seventeen, 



HOW JOSEPH'S DREAM CAME TRUE, 

Genesis xli : 46, to xlii : 38. 




,HEN. Joseph was made ruler over the land of Egypt, 
he did just as he had always done. It was not 
Joseph's way to sit down and rest, and enjoy him- 
self, and make others wait on him. He found his 
work at once, and began to do it faithfully and 
thoroughly. He went out over all the land of Egypt, and saw 
how rich and abundant were the fields of grain, giving much 
more than the people could use for their own needs. He told 
the people not to waste it, but to save it for the coming time of 
need. 

And he called upon the people to give him for the king, one 
bushel of grain out of every five, to be stored up. The people 
brought their grain, after taking for themselves as much as they 
needed ; and Toseph stored it up in great store-houses in the cities ; 
so much at last that no one could keep account of it. 

The king of Egypt gave a wife to Joseph from the noble young 
women of his kingdom. Her name was Asenath; and to Joseph 
and his wife God gave two sons. The oldest son he named Man- 
asseh, a word which means, "making to forget." 



The Seven Years of Need 



103 



"For," said Joseph, "God has made me forget all my troubles, 
and my toil as a slave." 

The second son he named Ephraim, a word that means, 
"fruitful." 

"Because," said Joseph, "God has not only made the land 
fruitful, but he has made me fruitful in the land of my troubles." 

The seven years of plenty soon passed by, and then came the 
years of need. In all the lands around people were hungry, and 
there was no food for them to eat ; but in the land of Egypt every- 
body had enough. Most of the people soon used up the grain 
that they had 
saved : many had 
saved none at 
all, and they all 
cried to the king 
to help them. 

"Go to Jo- 
seph," said King 
Pharaoh, " and do 
whatever he tells 
you to do." 

Then the peo- 
ple came to Jo- 
seph, and Joseph 
opened the store- 
houses, and sold 
to the people all 
the grain that 

they wished to buy. And not only the people of Egypt came to 
buy grain, but people of all the lands around as well, for there 
was great need and famine everywhere. 

And the need was as great in the land of Canaan, where Jacob 
lived, as in other lands. Jacob was rich in flocks and cattle, and 
gold and silver ; but his fields gave no grain, and there was danger 
that his family and his people would starve. And Jacob, — who 
was now called Israel also, — heard that there was food in Egypt, 
and he said to his sons : 

"Why do you look at each other, asking what to do to find 
food? I have been told that there is grain in Egypt. Go down 




PLOWING IN BIBLE TIME. 



io4 How Joseph's Dream Came True 

to that land, and take money with you, and buy grain, so that 
we may have bread, and may live." 

Then the ten older brothers of Joseph went down to the land 
of Egypt. They rode upon asses, for horses were not much used 
in those times, and they brought money with them. But Jacob 
would not let Benjamin, Joseph's younger brother, go with them, 
for he was all the more dear to his father, now that Joseph was 
no longer with him; and Jacob feared that harm might come to 
him. 

Then Joseph's brothers came to Joseph to buy food. They 
did not know him, grown up to -be a man, dressed as a prince, 
and seated on a throne. Joseph was now nearly forty years old, 
and it had been almost twenty-three years since they had sold 
him. But Joseph knew them all, as soon as he saw them. He 
resolved to be sharp and stern with them, not because he hated 
them, but because he wished to see what their spirit was, and 
whether they were as selfish, and cruel,- and wicked as they had 
been in other days. 

They came before him, and bowed, with their faces to the 
ground. Then, no doubt, Joseph thought of the dream that had 
come to him while he was a boy, of his brothers' sheaves bending 
down around his sheaf. He spoke to them as a stranger, as if 
he did not understand their language, and he had their words 
explained to him in the language of Egypt. 

"Who are you? And from what place do you come?" said 
Joseph, in a harsh, stern manner. 

They answered him, very meekly, "We have come from the 
land of Canaan to buy food." 

"No," said Joseph, "I know what you have come for. You 
have come as spies, to see how helpless the land is, so that you 
can bring an army against us, and make war on us." 

"No, no," said Joseph's ten brothers, "we are no spies, we 
are the sons of one man, who lives in the land of Canaan; and 
we have come for food, because we have none at home." 

"You say you are the sons of one man, who is your father? 
Is he living? Have you any more brothers? Tell me all about 
yourselves." 

And they said, "Our father is an old man in Canaan. We 
did have a vounger brother, but he was lost; and we have one 



One Brother Left as Prisoner 105 

brother still, who is the youngest of all, but his father could not 
spare him to come with us." 

"No," said Joseph, "you are not good, honest men. You 
are spies. I shall put you all in prison, except one of you; and 
he shall go and bring that youngest brother of yours; and when 
I see him, then I will believe that you tell the truth." 

So Joseph put all the ten men in prison, and kept them under 
guard for three days; then he sent for them again. They did 
not know that he could understand their language, and they said 
to each other, while Joseph heard, but pretended not to hear: 

"This has come upon us because of the wrong that we did 
to our brother Joseph, more than twenty years ago. We heard 
him cry, and plead with us, when we threw him into the pit, and 
we would not have mercy on him. God is giving us only what 
we have deserved." 

And Reuben, who had tried to save Joseph, said, " Did I not 
tell you not to harm the boy? and you would not listen to me. 
God is bringing our brother's blood upon us all." 

When Joseph heard this, his heart was touched, for he saw 
that his brothers were really sorry for the wrong that they had 
done him. He turned away from them, so that they could not 
see his face, and he wept. Then he turned again to them, and 
spoke roughly as before, and said : 

"This I will do, for I serve God, I will let you all go home, 
except one man. One of you I will shut up in prison; but the 
rest of you can go home, and take food for your people. And 
you must come back, and bring your youngest brother with you, 
and I shall know then that you have spoken the truth." 

Then Joseph gave orders, and his servants seized one of his 
brothers, whose name w r as Simeon, and bound him in their sight, 
and took him away to prison. And he ordered his servants to 
fill the men's sacks with grain, and to put every man's money 
back into the sack before it was tied up, so that they would find 
the money as soon as they opened the sack. Then the men loaded 
their asses with the sacks of grain, and started to go home, leaving 
their brother Simeon a prisoner. 

When they stopped on the way to feed their asses, one of the 
brothers opened his sack, and there he found his money lying on 
the top of the grain. He called out to his brothers, "'See, here 



io6 A Lost Brother Found 

is my money given again to me ! ' ' And they were frightened ; but 
they did not dare to go back to Egypt, and meet the stern ruler 
of the land. They went home, and told their old father all that 
had happened to them; and how their brother Simeon was in 
prison, and must stay there until they should return, bringing 
Benjamin with them. 

When they opened their sacks of grain, there, in the mouth of 
each sack, was the money that they had given; and they were 
filled with fear. Then they spoke of going again to Egypt, and 
taking Benjamin, but Jacob said to them : 

"You are taking my sons away from me. Joseph is gone, and 
Simeon is gone, and now you would take Benjamin away. All 
these things are against me ! ' ' 

Reuben said, "Here are my own two boys. You may kill 
them, jf you wish, in case I do not bring Benjamin back to you." 

But Jacob said, "My youngest son shall not go with you. His 
brother is dead, and he alone is left to me. If harm should come to 
him, it would bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to the grave." 



Story (Sixteen, 



A LOST BROTHER FOUND 

Genesis xliii : i, to xlv : 24. 




HE food which Jacob's sons had brought from Egypt 
did not last long, for Jacob's family was large. Most 
of his sons were married and had children of their 
own; so that the children and grand-children, were 
sixty-six, besides the servants who waited on them, 
and the men who cared for Jacob's flocks. So around the tent of 
Jacob was quite a camp of other tents and an army of people. 




BENJAMIN IS BROUGHT TO JOSEPH. 



io8 A Lost Brother Found 



When the food that had come from Egypt was nearly eaten 
up, Jacob said to his sons : 

" Go down to Egypt again, and buy some more food for us." 

And Judah, Jacob's son, the man who years before had urged 
his brothers to sell Joseph to the Ishmaelites (see Story Fifteen), 
said to his father : 

" It is of no use for us to go to Egypt, unless we take Benjamin 
with us. The man who rules in that land said to us, ' You shall 
not see my face, unless your youngest brother be with you.' " 

Israel said, "Why did you tell the man that you had a 
brother ? You did me great harm when you told him . ' ' 

"Why," said Jacob's sons, "we could not help telling him. 
The man asked us all about our family. Is your father yet living? 
Have you any more brothers? and we had to tell him, his questions 
were so close. How should we know that he would say, 'Bring 
your brother here for me to see him.' " 

And Judah said, "Send Benjamin with me, and I will take 
care of him. I promise you, that I will bring him safely home. 
If he does not come back, let me bear the blame forever. He 
must go, or we shall die for want of food ; and we might have gone 
down to Egypt and come home again, if we had not been kept 
back." And Jacob said, " If he must go, then he must. But take a 
present to the man, some of the choicest fruits of the land, some 
spices, and perfumes, and nuts, and almonds. And take twice 
as much money, besides the money that was in your sacks. Per- 
haps that was a mistake, when the money was given back to you. 
And take your brother Benjamin; and may the Lord God make 
the man kind to you, so that he will set Simeon free, and let you 
bring Benjamin back. But if it is God's will that I lose my children, 
I cannot help it." 

So ten brothers of Joseph went down a second time to Egypt. 
Benjamin going in place of Simeon. They came to Joseph's 
office, the place where he sold grain to the people; and they stood 
before their brother, and bowed as before. Joseph siw that Ben- 
jamin was with them, and he said to his steward, the man who 
was over his house: " Make ready a dinner, for all these men shall 
dine with me to-day." 

When Joseph's brothers found that they were taken into 
Joseph's house, they were filled with fear; they said to each other: 



Joseph Meets His Brothers 109 

"We have been taken here on account of the money in our 
sacks. They will say that we have stolen it; and then they will 
sell us all for slaves." 

But Joseph's steward, the man who was over his house, treated 
the men kindly, and when they spoke of the money in their sacks i 
he- would not take it again, saying: ' 'Never fear; your God musti 
have sent you this as a gift. I had your money." The steward 
received the men into Joseph's house, and washed their feet, 
according to the custom of the land. And at noon, Joseph came 
in to meet them. They brought him the present from their 
father, and again they bowed before him, with their faces on the 
ground. 

And Joseph asked them if they were well, and said ; " Is your 
father still living, the old man of whom you spoke? Is he well? " 

And they said, "Our father is well, and he is living." And 
again they bowed to Joseph. And Joseph looked at his younger 
brother, Benjamin, the child of his own mother, Rachel; and he 
said: "Is this your youngest brother, of whom you spoke to me? 
God be gracious unto you, my son." 

And Joseph's heart was so full that he could not keep back 
his tears. He went in haste to his own room, and wept there. 
Then he washed his face, and came out again, and ordered the 
table to be set for dinner. They set Joseph's table for himself, 
as the ruler, and another table for his Egyptian officers, and 
another for the eleven men from Canaan; for Joseph had brought 
Simeon out of the prison, and had given him a place with his 
brothers. 

Joseph himself arranged the order of the seats for his brothers, 
the oldest at the head ; and all in order of age down to the youngest. 
The men wondered at this, and could not see how the ruler of 
Egypt should know the order of their ages. And Joseph sent 
dishes from his table to his brothers; and he gave to Benjamin 
five times as much as to the others. Perhaps he wished to see 
whether they were as jealous of Benjamin as in other days they 
had been toward him. 

After dinner, Joseph said to his steward, "Fill the men's sacks 
with grain, as much as they can carry; and put each man's money 
in his sack. And put my silver cup in the sack of the youngest, 
with his money." 



no 



A Lost Brother Found 



The steward did as Joseph had said ; and early in the morning 
the brothers started to go home. A little while afterward, Joseph 
said to his steward : 

" Hasten* follow after the men from Canaan, and say, ' Why 

have you 
wronged 
me, after I 
had treated 
you kindly? 
You have 
stolen my 
master's sil- 
ver cup, out 
of which he 
drink s.'" 
The steward 
followed the 
men , and 
o v er t o ok 
them, and 
charged 
them with 
stealing. 
And they 
said to him: 
"Why, 
should you 
talk to us 
in this man- 
ner? We 
have stolen 
nothing. 
Why, we 

brought back to you the money that we found in our sacks; and 
is it likely that we would steal from your lord his silver or gold? 
You may search us; and if you find your master's cup on any of 
us, let him die, and the rest of us may be sold as slaves." 

Then they took down the sacks from the asses, and opened 
them; and in each man's sack was his money, for the second time. 




CUP was fou; 



BENJAMIN. 



Joseph Makes Himself Known in 

And when they came to Benjamin's sack, there was the ruler's 
silver cup! Then, in the greatest sorrow, they tied up their bags 
again, and laid them on the asses, and came back to Joseph's palace. 

And Joseph said to them: 

"What wicked thing is this that you have done? Did you 
not know that I would surely find out your deeds." 

Then Judah said, "O my lord, what can we say? God has 
punished us for our sins; and now we must all be slaves, both us 
that are older, and the youngest in whose sack the cup was found." 

" No," said Joseph, " only one of you is guilty, the one who 
has taken away my cup ; I will hold him as a slave, and the rest 
of you can go home to your father." 

Joseph wished to see whether his brothers were still selfish, 
and were willing to let Benjamin suffer, if they could escape. 

Then Judah, the very man who had urged his brothers to sell 
Joseph as a slave, came forward, and fell at Joseph's feet, and 
pleaded with him to let Benjamin go. He told again the whole 
story, how Benjamin was the one whom his father loved the most 
of all his children, now that his brother was lost. He said: 

"I promised to bear the blame, if this boy was not brought 
home in safety. If he does not go back, it will kill our poor old 
father, who has seen much trouble. Now let my youngest brother 
go home to his father, and I will stay here as a slave in his place!" 

Joseph knew now what he had longed to know, that his 
brothers were no longer cruel nor selfish, but one of them was 
willing to suffer, so that his brother might be spared. And Joseph 
could not any longer keep his secret, for his heart longed after his 
brothers, and he was ready to weep again, with tears of love and 
joy. He sent all his Egyptian servants out of the room, so that 
,he might be alone with his brothers, and then said : 

"Come near to me, I wish to speak with you;" and they came 
near, wondering. Then Joseph said : 

"I am Joseph, is my father really alive?" How frightened 
his brothers were, as they heard these words, spoken in their own 
language by the ruler of Egypt, and for the first time, knew that 
this stern man, who had their lives in his hand, was their own 
brother whom they had wronged ! Then Joseph said again : 

" I am Joseph your brother, whom you sold into Egypt. But 
do not feel troubled because of what you did. For God sent me 



n2 A Lost Brother Found 

before you to save your lives. There have been already two years 
of need and famine, and there are to be five years more, when there 
shall neither be plowing of the fields nor harvest. It was not you 
who sent me here, but God, and he sent me to save your lives. 
God has made me like a father to Pharaoh and ruler over all the 
land of Egypt. Now, go home, and bring down to me my father 
and all his family, for that is the only way to save their lives." 

Then Joseph placed his arms around Benjamin's neck, and 
kissed him, and wept upon him And Benjamin wept on his neck. 
And Joseph kissed all his brothers, to show them that he had fully 
forgiven them; and after that his brothers began to lose their fear 
of Joseph, and talked with him more freely. 

Afterward Joseph sent his brothers home with good news, 
and rich gifts, and abundant food. He sent also wagons in which 
Jacob and his wives and the little ones of his family might ride 
from Canaan down to Egypt. And Joseph's brothers went home 
happier than they had been for many years. 



Story nineteen, 



FROM THE LAND OF FAMINE TO THE 
LAND OF PLENTY. 

Genesis xlv: 25, to 1: 26. 




Joseph's eleven brothers went home to their old 
father with the glad news that Joseph was alive and 
was ruler over the land. It was such a joyful sur- 
prise to Jacob that he fainted. But after a time he 
revived; and when they showed him the wagons 
that Joseph had sent to bring him and his family to Egypt, 
old Jacob said, "It is enough; Joseph my son is yet alive; I will 
go and see him before I die." 



Jacob Goes Down to Egypt 



"3 



Then they went on their journey, with their wives, and children, 
and servants, and sheep and cattle, a great company. They stopped 
to rest at Beersheba, which had been the home of Isaac and of 
Abraham, and made offerings to the Lord, and worshipped. And 
that night the Lord appeared to Jacob, and said to him: 

" Jacob, I am the Lord, the God of your father, fear not to 
go down to Egypt; for I will go down with you; and there you 
shall see your son Joseph ; and in Egypt I will make of your descen- 




JOSEPH BRINGS JACOB TO PHARAOH. 

dants, those that come from you, a great people ; and I will surely 
bring them back again to this land." 

They came down to Egypt, sixty-six of Jacob's children and 
grand-children. Joseph rode in his chariot to meet his father, and 
fell on his neck, and wept upon him. And Jacob said, " Now, I am 
ready to die, since I know that you are still alive ; and I have seen 
your face." And Joseph brought his father in to see King Pha- 
raoh ; and Jacob, as an old man, gave his blessing to the king. 

The part of the land of Egypt where Joseph found for his 
brothers a home, was called Goshen. It was on the east, between 

8 



ti4 From the Land of Famine to Plenty 

Egypt and the desert, and it was a very rich land, where the soil 
gave large harvests. But at that time, and for five years after, 
there were no crops, because of the famine that was in the land. 
During those years , the people of Israel in the land of Goshen, were 
fed as were all the people of Egypt, with grain from the store- 
houses of Joseph. 

Jacob lived to be almost a hundred and fifty years old. Before 
he died he blessed Joseph and all his sons, and said to them : 

" When I die, do not bury me in the land of Egypt, but take 
my body to the land of Canaan, and bury me in the cave at Hebron, 
with Abraham, and Isaac my father." 

And Joseph brought his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, 
to his father's bed, Jacob's eyes were dim with age, as his father 
Isaac's had been (see Story Twelve), and he could not see the two 
young men. And he said, "Who are these?" 

And Joseph said, "They are my two sons, whom God has 
given me in this land." 

"Bring them tome," said Jacob, "that I may bless them 
before I die." 

And Jacob kissed them, and put his arms around them, and 
he said: 

"I had not thought that I should ever see your face, my son; 
and God has let me see both you and your children also." 

And Jacob placed his right hand on Ephraim 's head, the 
younger, and his left hand on Manasseh the older. Joseph tried 
to change his father's hands, so that his right hand should be on 
the older son's head. But Jacob would not allow him, and he 
said: 

"I know what I am doing, God will bless the older son; but 
the greater blessing shall be with the younger, for his descendants, 
those who spring from him, shall be greater and stronger than 
the descendants of hi brother." 

And so it came to pass many years after this ; for the tribe of 
Ephraim, the younger son, became greater and more powerful 
than the tribe of Manasseh, the older son. 

When Jacob died a great funeral was held. They carried 
his body up out of Egypt to the land of Canaan, and buried it,— 
as he had said to them, — in the cave of Machpelah, where Abra- 
ham and Isaac were buried already. 



Joseph's Kindness to His Brothers J1 5 

When the sons of Jacob came back to Egypt after the burial 
of their father, they said one to another : 

"It may be that Joseph will punish us, now that his father 
is dead, for the wrong that we did to him many years ago." 

And they sent a message, asking Joseph to forgive them, 
for his father's sake. And again they came and bowed down 




THE TOMB OF ABRAHAM, ISAAC AND JACOB. 



before him, with their faces to the ground; they said, "We are 
your servants; be merciful to us." 

Joseph wept when his brothers spoke to him, and he 'said : 

"Fear not. Am I in God's place to punish and to reward? 
It is true that you meant evil to me, but God turned it to good, 
so that all your families might be kept alive. Do not be afraid ; 
I will care for you, and for your children." 

After this Joseph lived to a good old age, until he was a hun- 
dred and ten years old. Before he died he said to his children, 
and to all the children of Israel, who had now increased to very 
many people : 

"I am going to die; but God will come to you, and will bring 
you up out of this land, into your own land, which he promised 



n6 Beautiful Baby Who was Found in a River 

to your fathers, to Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob. When I 
die do not bury me in Egypt, but keep my body until you go 
out of this land, and take it with you." 

So when Joseph died they embalmed his body, as the Egyp- 
tians embalmed the dead; so that the body would not decay, and 
they placed his body in a stone coffin, and kept it in the land of 
Goshen among the people of Israel. Thus Joseph not only showed 
his faith in God's promise, that he would bring his people back 
to the land of Canaan; but he also encouraged the faith of those 
who came after him. For as often as the Israelites looked on 
the stone coffin that held the body of Joseph, they said to one 
another. 

■"There is the token, the sign, that this land is not our home. 
This coffin will not be buried until we bury it in our own land, 
the land of Canaan, where God will lead us in his own time." 



Story CtDenty. 



THE BEAUTIFUL BABY WHO WAS FOUND 

IN A RIVER. 

Exodus i: i, to ii: 22. 




HE children of Israel stayed in the land of Egypt much 
longer than they had expected to stay. They were 
in that land about four hundred years. And the 
going down to Egypt proved a great blessing to 
them. It saved their lives during the years of 
famine and need. After the years of need were over, they found 
the soil in the land of Goshen, that part of Egypt where they were 
living, very rich, so that they could gather three or four crops 
every year. 



The Israelites in Egypt 



117 



Then, too, some of the sons of Israel, before they came to 
Egypt, had begun to marry the women in the land of Canaan, 
who worshipped idols, and not the Lord. If they had stayed 
there, their children would have grown up like the people around 
them, and soon would have lost all knowledge of God. 

But in Goshen, they lived alone and apart from the people 
of Egypt. They worshipped the Lord God, and were kept away 
from the idols of Egypt. And in that land, as the years went 




THE BABY IN THE ARK FLOATS DOWN THE RIVER. 



on, from being seventy people, they grew in number, until 
they became a great multitude. Each of the twelve sons of 
Jacob was the father of a tribe, and Joseph was the father of 
two tribes, which were named after his two sons, Ephraim and 
Manasseh. 

As long as Joseph lived, and for some time after, the people 
of Israel were treated kindly by the Egyptians, out of their love 
for Joseph, who had saved Egypt from suffering by famine. But, 
after a long time another king began to rule over Egypt, who 
cared nothing for Joseph or Joseph's people. He saw that the 



n8 Beautiful Baby Who was Found in a River 

Israelites (as the children of Israel were called) were very many; 
and he feared lest they would soon become greater in number 
and in power than the Egyptians. 

He said to his people, "Let us rule these Israelites more 
strictly. They are growing too strong." 

Then they set harsh rulers over the Israelites, who laid heavy 
burdens on them. They made the Israelites w T ork hard for the 
Egyptians, and build cities for them, and give to the Egyptians 
a large part of the crops from their fields. They set them at work 
in making brick, and in building store -houses. They were so 
afraid that the Israelites would grow in number, that they gave 
orders to kill all the little boys that were born to the Israelites ; 
though their little girls might be allowed to live. 

But in the face of all this hate, and wrong, and cruelty, the 
people of Israel were growing in numbers, and becoming greater 
and greater. 

At this time, when the wrongs of the Israelites were the 
greatest, and when their little children were being killed, one 
little boy was born. He was such a lovely child that his mother 
kept him hid, so that the enemies did not find him. When she 
could no longer hide him, she found a plan to save his life, believ- 
ing that God would help her and save her beautiful little boy. 
She made a little box like a boat, and covered it with some- 
thing that would not let the water into it. Such a boat as this, 
covered over, was called "an ark." She knew that at certain 
times the daughter of King Pharaoh, — all the kings of Egypt 
were called Pharaoh, — would come down to the river for a bath. 
She placed her baby boy in the ark, and let it float down the river 
where the princess, Pharaoh's daughter, would see it. And she sent 
her own daughter, a little girl named Miriam, twelve years old, 
to watch close at hand. How anxious the mother and the sister 
were as they saw the little ark floating away from them on the 
river. 

Pharaoh's daughter, with her maids, came down to the river ; 
and they saw the ark floating on the water, among the reeds. She 
sent one of her maids to bring it to her, so that she might see what 
was in the curious box. They opened it, and there was a beautiful 
little baby, who began to cry to be taken up. 

The princess felt kind toward the little one, and loved it at 



The Baby Finds a Friend 



119 



once. She said: "This is one of the Hebrews' children." You 
have heard how the children of Israel came to be called Hebrews 
(see Story Sixteen). Pharaoh's daughter thought that it would 
be cruel to let such a lovely baby as this die out on the water. 

And just then a little girl came running up' 
to her, as if by accident, and she 
looked at the baby also, and said : 

"Shall I go and find some 
woman of the Hebrews to be a 
nurse to the child for you, and take 
care of it?" 

"Yes," said the princess, "Go 
and find a nurse for me." 

The little girl, — who was 
Miriam, the baby's sister, — ran 
as quickly as she could, 
and brought the baby's 
own mother to the prin- 
cess. Miriam showed in 
this act that she was a 
wise and thought- 
ful little girl. The 
princess said to 
the little baby's 
mother : 

"Take this 
child to your 
home and nurse 
it for. me, and I 
will pay you wages 
for it." 

How glad the 
Hebrew mother 
was to take her 
child home! No 
one could harm her boy now, for he was protected by the princess 
of Egypt, the daughter of the king. 

When the child was large enough to leave his mother, Pharaoh's 
daughter took him into her own home in the palace. She named 




THE PRINCESS FINDS THE BABY. 



120 



Beautiful Baby Who was Found in a River 



him "Moses," a word that means "Drawn out," because he was 
drawn out of the water. 

So Moses, the Hebrew boy, lived in the palace among the nobles- 
of the land, as the son of the princess. There he learned much 
more than he could have learned among his own people ; for there 
were very wise teachers among the Egyptians. Moses gained 
all the knowledge that the Egyptians had to give. There in the 
court of the cruel king who had made slaves of the Israelites,. 




MOSES DROVE OFF THE ROUGH MEN. 



God's people, was growing up an Israelite boy who should at 
some time set his people free. 

Although, Moses grew up among the Egyptians, and gained 
their learning, he loved his own people. They were poor and were 
hated, and were slaves, but he loved them, because they were the 
people who served the Lord God, while the Egyptians worshipped 
idols and animals. Strange it was that so wise a people as these 
should bow down and pray to an ox, or to a cat, or to a snake, as 
did the Egyptians ! 

When Moses became a man, he went among his own people, 
leaving the riches and ease that he might have enjoyed among 



Moses a Shepherd 121 

the Egyptians. He felt a call from God to lift up the Israelites, 
and set them free. But at that time he found that he could do 
nothing to help them. They would not let him lead them, and as 
the king of Egypt had now become his enemy, Moses went away 
from Egypt, into a country in Arabia called Midian. 

He was sitting by a well, in that land, tired from his long 
journey, when he saw some young women come to draw water 
for their flocks of sheep. But some rough men came and drove 
the women away, and took the water for their own flocks. Moses 
saw it, and helped the women, and drew the water for them. 

These young women were sisters, the daughters of a man 
named Jethro, who was a priest in the land of Midian. He asked 
Moses to live with him, and to help him in the care of his flocks. 
Moses stayed with Jethro, and married one of his daughters. So 
from being a prince in the king's palace in Egypt, Moses became a 
shepherd in the wilderness of Midian. 



Story {Dr>enty=one- 



THE VOICE FROM THE BURNING BUSH 

Exodus iii : i, toiv: 31. 




'T must have been a great change in the life of Moses, 
after he had spent forty years in the palace as a prince, 
to go out into the wilderness of Midian, and live there 
as a shepherd. He saw no more the crowded cities, 
the pyramids, the temples of Egypt, and the great 
river Nile. For forty years Moses wandered about the land of 
Midian with his flocks, living alone, often sleeping at night on the 
ground, and looking up by day to the great mountains. 

He wore the rough skin mantle of a shepherd ; and in his hand 



122 The Voice from the Burning Bush 

was the long shepherd's staff. On his feet were sandals which he 
wore instead of shoes. But when he stood before an altar to 
worship God he took off his sandals. For when we take off our 
hats, as in church or a place where God is worshipped, the people 
of those lands take off their shoes, as a sign of reverence in a sacred 
place. i 

Moses was a great man, one of the greatest men that ever lived. 
But he did not think himself great or wise. He was contented 
with the work that he was doing; and sought no higher place. 
But God had a work for Moses to do, and all through those years 
in the wilderness God was preparing him for that work. 

All through those years, while Moses was feeding his flock in 
Midian, the people of Israel were still bearing heavy burdens and 
working as slaves in Egypt, making brick and building cities. The 
king who had begun the hard treatment of the Israelites died, but 
another king took his place, and was just as cruel. He was called 
by the same name, Pharaoh, for this was the name given to all the 
kings of Egypt. 

One day, Moses was feeding his flock on a mountain, called 
Mount Horeb. This mountain was also called Mount Sinai, and 
is spoken of by both names in the Bible. On the mountain Moses 
saw a bush which seemed to be on fire. He watched to see it burn 
up, but it was not destroyed, though it kept burning on and on. 
And Moses said to himself : 

" I will go and look at this strange thing, a bush on fire, yet 
not burning up." 

As Moses was going toward the bush, he heard a voice coming 
out of the bush, calling him by name, "Moses, Moses!" He 
listened, and said, " Here I am." ; 

The voice said, "Moses, do not come near; but take off your 
shoes from your feet, for you are standing on holy ground." 

So Moses took off his shoes, and came near to the burning 
bush. And the voice came from the bush, saying : 

"I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, and of 
Isaac, and of Jacob. I have seen the wrongs and the cruelty that 
my people have suffered in Egypt, and I have heard their cry on 
account of their task-masters. And I am coming to set them free 
from the land of the Egyptians, and to bring them up to their own 
land, the land of Canaan, a good land, and large. Come, now, 



i2 4 The Voice from the Burning Bush 

and I will send you to Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, and you shall 
lead out my people from Egypt." 

Moses knew what a great work this would be, to lead the 
Israelites out of Egypt, from the power of its king. He dreaded 
to take it up such a task ; and he said to the Lord : 

"O Lord, who am I, a shepherd here in the wilderness, to do 
this great work, to go to Pharaoh, and to bring the people out of 
Egypt. It is too great a work for me." 

And God said to Moses : 

" Surely I will be with you, and will help you to do this great 
work. I will give you a sign of my presence with you When 
you have led my people out of Egypt, you shall bring them to 
this mountain, and they shall worship me here. And then you 
shall know that I have been with you." 

And Moses said to God : 

''When I go to the children of Israel in Egypt, and tell them 
that the God of their fathers has sent me, they will say to me, 
'Who is this God? What is his name? For they have suffered 
so much, and have sunk so low, that I fear they have forgotten 
their God." 

You remember that Moses had been out of Egypt and afar 
from his people for forty years, a long time, and in that time he 
did not know whether they had continued the worship of God. 

And God said to Moses : 

"My name is 'I AM,' the One who is always living. Do 
you go to your people and say to them, ' I AM hath sent me to 
you." Do not be afraid; go to your people, and say to them what 
I have said to you, and they will listen to you and believe. And 
you shall take the elders of your tribes, the leading men among 
them, and shall go to King Pharaoh, and shall say to him, 'Let 
my people go, that they may worship me in the wilderness.' At 
first he will not let you go; but afterward, I will show my power 
in Egypt, and then he will let you go out of the land." 

But Moses wished some sign, which he could give to his people, 
and to the Egyptians, to show them that God had sent him. He 
asked God to give him some sign. And God said to him : 

"What is that which you have in your hand?" Moses said, 
" It is a rod, my shepherd's staff, which I use to guide the sheep." 

And God said, "Throw it on the ground." Then Moses threw 



God Gives Signs to Moses 125 

it down, and instantly it was turned into a snake. Moses was 
afraid of it, and began to run from it. 

And God said, " Do not fear it, but take hold of it by the tail." 
Moses did so, and at once it became again a rod in his hand. 

And God said again to Moses, "Put your hand into your 
bosom, under your garment, and take it out again." 

Then Moses put his hand under his garment, and when he 
took it out it had changed, and was now as white as snow, and 
covered with a scaly crust, like the hand of a leper. He looked 
at it with fear and horror. But God said to him again : 

"Put your hand into your bosom once more." Moses did 
so, and when he took it out, his hand was like the other, with a 
pure skin, no longer like a leper's hand. 

And God said to Moses, " When you go to speak my words if 
they will not believe you, show them the first sign, and let your rod 
become a snake, and then a rod again. And if they still refuse 
to believe your words, show them the second sign; turn your 
hand into a leper's hand, and then bring it back as it was before. 
And if they still will not believe, then take some water from the 
river, and it shall turn to blood. Fear not, go and speak my 
words to your own people and to the Egyptians." 

But Moses was still unwilling to go, not because he was afraid, 
but because he did not feel himself to be fit for such a great task. 
And he said to the Lord : 

"Oh, Lord, thou knowest that I am not a good speaker; I am 
slow of speech, and cannot talk before men. " 

And God said, "Am not I the Lord, who made man's mouth? 
Go, and I will be with your lips, and will teach you what to say." 

But Moses still hesitated, and he said, "O Lord, choose some 
other man for this great work ; I am not able to do it." 

And God said, "You have a brother, whose name is Aaron. 
He can speak well. Even now he is coming to see you in the wilder- 
ness. Let him help you, and speak for you. Let him do the 
speaking, and do you show the signs which I have given you." 

At last Moses yielded to God's call. He went from Mount 
Sinai with his flocks, and took them home to Jethro his father-in- 
law ; and then he went toward Egypt, and on the way he met his 
brother coming to see him. Then the two brothers, Moses and 
Aaron, came to the elders of Israel in the land of Goshen. They 



126 The River that Ran Blood 

told the people what God had said, and they wrought before them 
the signs which God had given. 

And the people said, "God has seen all our troubles, and at 
last he is coming to set us free." And they were glad, and gave 
thanks to God who had not forgotten them; for God never forgets 
those who call upon him. 



Story Ctt>enty=ttr>o. 



THE RIVER THAT RAN BLOOD, 

Exodus vi: 28, to x : 29. 




FTER Moses and Aaron had spoken to the people of 
Israel the words which God had given them, they 
went to meet Pharaoh the king of Egypt. You 
remember that all the kings of Egypt bore the 
name of Pharaoh. Moses and Aaron did not at first 
ask Pharaoh to let the people go out of Egypt, never to return, 
but they said: 

"Our God, the Lord God of Israel, has bidden us to go out, 
with all our people, a journey of three days into the wilderness, 
and there to worship him. And God speaks to you through us, 
saying, "Let my people go, that they may serve me." 

But Pharaoh was very angry. He said, "What are you doing, 
you Moses and Aaron, to call your people away from their work? 
Go back to your tasks and leave your people alone. I know why 
the Israelites are talking about going out into the wilderness. 
It is because they have not work enough to keep them busy. 
I will give them more work to do." 

The work of the Israelites, at that time, was mostly in making , 
brick, and putting up the walls of buildings for the rulers of Egypt. 




THE PEOPLE OF ISRAEL WORKING FOR THE EGYPTIANS 



The Rods that Became Snakes I2 7 

In mixing the clay for the brick they used straw, chopped up fine, 
to hold the clay together. Pharaoh said: 

"Let them make as many bricks as before; but give them 
no straw. Let the Israelites find their own straw for the brick- 
making." 

Of course this made their task all the harder, for it took much 
time to find the straw ; and the Israelites were scattered all through 
the land finding straw and stubble, for use in making the brick; 
and yet they were called upon to bring as many brick each day 
as before. And when they could not do all their task they were 
cruelly beaten by the Egyptians. Many of the Israelites now 
became angry with Moses and Aaron, who, they thought, had 
brought more burden and trouble upon them. They said: 

"May the Lord God judge you, and punish you] You pro- 
mised to lead us out, and set us free ; but you have only made our 
suffering the greater!" 

Then Moses cried to the Lord, and the Lord said to him : 

"Take Aaron, your brother, and go again to Pharaoh; and 
show him the signs that I gave you." 

So they went in to Pharaoh, and again asked him in the Lord's 
name, to let the people go. And Pharaoh said: 

"Who is the Lord? Why should I obey his commands?" 
What sign can you show that God has sent you ? ' ' 

Then Aaron threw down his rod, and it was- turned into a 
snake. But there were wise men in Egypt who had heard of 
this; and they made ready a trick. They threw down their rods, 
and their rods became snakes, or seemed to. They may have 
been tame snakes, which they had hidden under their long garments, 
and then brought out, as if they had been rods. 

But Aaron's rod, in the form of a snake, ran after them, and 
swallowed them all; and then it became a rod again in Aaron's 
hand. But King Pharaoh refused to obey God's voice. 

Then Moses spoke to Aaron, by God's command: "Take 
your rod and wave it over the waters of Egypt, over the river 
Nile, and the canals, and the lakes." 

Then Aaron did so. He lifted up the rod, and struck the 
water, in the sight of Pharaoh. And in a moment all the water 
turned to blood, and the fish in the river all died; and a terrible 
stench, a foul smell, arose over the land. And the people were 



i28 The River that Ran Blood 

in danger of dying. But in the land of Goshen, where the Israelites 
were, the water remained as it had been, and was not turned to 
blood. So God made a difference between Israel and Egypt. 

The people of Egypt dug wells, to find water; and the wise 
men of Egypt brought some water to Pharaoh, and made it look 
as though they had turned it to blood. And Pharaoh would not 
listen, nor let the people go. 

After seven days Moses took away the plague of blood, but 
he warned Pharaoh that another plague was coming, if he refused 
to obey. And as Pharaoh still would not obey, Aaron stretched 
forth his rod again, and then all the land was covered with frogs. 
Like a great army they ran over all the fields, and they even 
filled the houses. Pharaoh said: 

"Pray to your God for me; ask him to take the frogs away, 
and I will let the people go." 

Then Moses prayed; and God took away the frogs. They 
died everywhere; and the Egyptians heaped them up and buried 
them. But Pharaoh broke his promise, and would not let the 
people go. 

Then, at God's command by Moses, Aaron lifted his rod again, 
and struck the dust; and everywhere the dust became alive with 
lice and fleas. But still Pharaoh would not hear, and God sent 
great swarms and clouds of flies all over the land, so that their 
houses were filled with them, and the sky was covered. But 
where the Israelites lived there were no lice, nor fleas, nor flies. 

Then Pharaoh began to yield a little. He said; 

" Why must you go out of the land to worship God? Worship 
him here in this land." 

But Moses said, "When we worship the Lord, we must make 
an offering: and our offerings are of animals which the people 
of Egypt worship, oxen and sheep. It would make the Egyptians 
angry to see us offering a sacrifice of animals which they call gods." 

" Well," said Pharaoh, "you may go; but do not go far away, 
and come back." But when Moses and Aaron had taken away 
the plague, Pharaoh broke his promise again, and still held the 
people as slaves. 

Then another plague came. A terrible disease struck all the 
animals in Egypt, the horses and asses, the camels, the sheep, 
and the oxen; and they died by the thousand in a day, all over 



More Plagues in Egypt 129 

the land. But no plague came upon the flocks and herds of the 
Israelites. 

But Pharaoh was still stubborn. He would not obey God's 
voice. Then Moses and Aaron gathered up in their hands, ashes 
from the furnace, and threw it up like a cloud into the air. And 
instantly boils began to break out on men and on beasts all through 
the land. 

Still Pharaoh refused to obey; and then Moses stretched out 
his rod toward the sky. At once a terrible storm burst forth upon 
the land; all the more terrible because in that land rain scarcely 
ever falls. Sometimes there will not be even a shower of rain 
for years at a time. But now the black clouds rolled, the thunder 
sounded, the lightning flashed, and the rain poured down, and 
with the rain came hail, something that the Egyptians had never 
seen before. It struck all the crops growing in the field, and the 
fruits on the trees, and destroyed them. 

Then again Pharaoh was frightened, and promised to let the 
people go; and again when God took away the hail at Moses' 
prayer, he broke his word, and would not let the Israelites leave 
the land. 

Then after the hail came great clouds of locusts, which ate up 
every green thing that the hail had spared. And after the locusts 
came the plague of darkness. For three days there was thick 
darkness, no sun shining, nor moon, nor stars. But still Pharaoh 
would not let the people go. Pharaoh said to Moses : 

" Get out of my sight. Let me never see your face again. If 
you come into my presence you shall be killed." 

And Moses said, "It shall be as you say, I will see your face 
no more." 

And God said to Moses, " There shall be one plague more, and 
then Pharaoh will be glad to let the people go. He will drive 
you out of the land. Make your people ready to go out of Egypt; 
your time here will soon be ended." 



Story Ctr>enty=tfyree. 



THE NIGHT WHEN A NATION WAS 

BORN. 

Exodus xi : i, to xiii : 22. 




,HILE all these terrible plagues, of which we read in 
the last story, were falling upon the people of Egypt, 
the Israelites in the land of Goshen were living in 
safety under God's care. The waters there were not 
made blood ; nor did the flies or the locusts trouble 
them. While all was dark in the rest of Egypt, in the land of 
Goshen the sun was shining. 

This made the Egyptians feel that the Lord God of the Israelites 
was watching over his own people. They brought gifts to the 
Israelites, of gold and silver, and jewels, and precious things of 
every kind, to win their favor, and to win the favor of their God. 
So the Israelites, from being very poor, began suddenly to be very 
rich. 

Now r Moses said to the people: 

"Ina few days you are to go out of Egypt, so gather together, 
get yourselves in order by your families, and your twelve tribes; 
and be ready to march out of Egypt." 

And the people of Israel did as Moses bade them. Then 
said Moses: 

"God will bring one plague more upon the Egyptians, and 
then they will let you go. And you must take care, and obey 
God's command exactly, or the last terrible plague will come upon 
your houses with the Egyptian houses. At midnight, the angel 
of the Lord will go through the land, and the oldest child in every 
house shall die. Pharaoh's son shall die, and every rich man's 
son, and every poor man's son, even the son of the beggar that 
has no home. But your families shall be safe if you do exactly as 
I command you." 

(130) 



132 The Night when a Nation was Born 

Then Moses told them what to do. Every family was bidden 
to find a lamb and to kill it. They were to take some of the blood 
of the lamb and sprinkle it at the entrance of the house, on the 
door-frame overhead, and on each side. Then they were to roast 
the lamb, and with it to cook some vegetables, and to eat it standing 
around the table, with all their garments on, ready to march away 
as soon as the meal should be ended. And no one was to go out 
of his house that night, for God's angel would be abroad, and he 
might be killed if the angel should meet him. 

The children of Israel did as Moses commanded them. They 
killed the lamb, and sprinkled the blood, and ate the supper in 
the night, as God had told them to do. And this supper was 
called "the Pass-over Supper," because when the angel saw the 
doors sprinkled with blood, he passed ever those houses, and did 
not enter them. And in memory of this great night, when God 
kept his people from death, the Israelites were commanded to eat 
just such a supper on that same night every year. This became 
a great feast of the Israelites, and was called "The Passover." 

Does not that slain lamb, and his blood sprinkled to save 
the people from death, make you think of Jesus Christ, who was 
the Lamb of God, slain to save us all? 

And that night a great cry went up from all the land of Egypt. 
In every house there was one, and that one the oldest son, who 
died. And Pharaoh the king of Egypt saw his own son lie dead, 
and knew that it was the hand of God. And all the people of 
Egypt were filled with terror, as they saw their children lying 
dead in their houses. 

The king now sent a messenger to Moses and Aaron, saying : 

"Make haste; get out of the land; take everything that you 
have ; leave nothing. And pray to your God to have mercy upon 
us, and to do us no more harm." 

So suddenly at the last, early in the morning, the Israelites, 
after four hundred years in Egypt, went out of the land. They 
went out in order, like a great army, family by family, and tribe 
by tribe. They went out in such haste, that they had no time 
to bake bread to eat on the journey. They left the dough in the 
pans, all ready mixed for baking, but not yet risen as bread is 
before it is baked: and they set the bread-pans on their heads, 
as people do in that land when they carry loads. And as a memory 



The Pillar of Cloud and Fire 133 

of that day, when they took the bread without waiting for it to 
rise, the rule was made that for one week in every year, and that 
same time in the year when they went out of Egypt, all the people 
of Israel should eat bread that is "unleavened," that is bread 
made without yeast, and unrisen. And this rule is kept to this 
day by the Jews, who belong to the Israelite family. 

And the Lord God went before the host of Israel, as they 
marched out of Egypt. In the day time there was a great cloud, 
like a pillar in front; and at night it became a pillar of fire. So 
both by day and night, as they saw the cloudy and fiery pillar 
going before, they could say, "Our Lord, the God of heaven and 
earth, goes before us." 

When the pillar of cloud stopped, they knew that was a sign 
that they were to pause in their journey and rest. So they set up 
their tents, and waited until the cloud should rise up and go for- 
ward. When they looked, and saw that the pillar of cloud was 
higher up in the air, and as though moving forward, they took 
down their tents, and formed in order for the march. Thus the 
pillar was like a guide by day and a guard by night. 

You remember that when Joseph died (see the end of Story 
Nineteen), he commanded the Israelites not to bury his body in 
Egypt, but to keep it in a stone coffin, unburied, as long as they 
should stay in the land. When they were going out of Egypt, the 
two tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh, who had sprung from Joseph, 
his descendants, as they are called, — took with them on their 
journey this stone coffin which held the body of Joseph their father. 
And thus the Israelites went out of Egypt, four hundred years 
after they had gone down to Egypt to live. 



Story Ctoenty=four. 



HOW THE SEA BECAME DRY LAND, AND 
THE SKY RAINED BREAD. 

Exodus xiv: i,toxvi: 36. 




jHEN the children of Israel came out of Egypt it was 
their aim to go at once to the land of Canaan, from 
which their fathers had come. The shortest road 
was that following the shore of the Great Sea, and 
entering Canaan on the southwest. But in this 
region lived the Philistines, a strong and warlike people ; and the 
Israelites, after ages of slavery, were not fit to carry on war. 
The other way was by the southeast, through the desert of Mount 
Sinai, where Moses knew the land, for it was there that he had 
been a shepherd for many years. 

So the Israelites, led by the pillar of cloud and fire turned to 
the southeast, directly toward the Red Sea, which rolled between 
them and the desert. In a very few days they came to the shore 
of the sea, with the water before them, and high mountains on 
each side 

As soon as the Israelites had left their homes, and were on the 
march, King Pharoah was sorry that he had let them go; for 
now they would no more be his servants and do his work. Word 
came to Pharaoh that the Israelites were lost among the moun- 
tains, and held fast by the sea in front of them. Pharaoh called 
out his army, his chariots, and his horsemen, and followed the 
Israelites, intending either to kill them, or to bring them back. 
Very soon the army of Egypt was close behind the host of Israel, 
and the hearts of the people were filled with fear. They cried to 
Moses, saying: 

"Why did you bring us out into this terrible place, shut in 
by the mountains and the sea, and with our enemies close behind 
us? It would be better to serve the Egyptians, than to die here 
in the wilderness!" 

(134) 



The Path Through the Sea 



135 



"Fear not," answered Moses. "Stand still, and see how 
God will save you. As for the Egyptians, whom you now see 
following you, you will see them no more forever. The Lord 
will fight for you, and you shall stand still and see your enemies 
slain." That night the pillar of fire, which was before the host 
of Israel went behind them, and stood between the camp of the 
Egyptians and the camp of the Israelites. To Israel it was bright 




THE EGYPTIANS WERE DROWNED IN THE SEA. 



and dazzling with the glory of the Lord, but to the Egyptians 
it was dark and terrible ; and they dared not enter it. 

And all that night there blew over the sea a mighty east 
wind, so that the water was blown away, and when the morning 
came there was a ridge of dry land between water on one side and 
water on the other, making a road across the sea to the land beyond, 
and on each side of the road the water lay in great lakes, as if 
to keep their enemies away from them. 



136 How the Sea Became Dry Land 

Then Moses told the people to go forward, and the pillar 
of cloud again went before them; and the people followed, a great 
army. They walked across the Red Sea as on dry land, and 
passed safely over into the wilderness on the other side. So God 
brought his people out of Egypt, into a land that they had never 
seen. 

When the Egyptians saw them marching into the sea, they 
followed, with their chariots and their horses. But the sand 
was no longer hard; it had become soft, and their chariot-wheels 
were fastened in it, and many of them broke off from the chariots. 
And the horses became mired, and fell down, so that the army 
was in confusion; and all were frightened. The soldiers cried 
out: 

"Let us fly from the face of the Israelites! The Lord is 
fighting for them, and against us !" 

By this time, all the Israelites had passed through the Red 
Sea, and were standing on the high ground beyond it, looking at 
their enemies slowly struggling through the sand, all in one heaped 
up mass of men, and horses, and chariots. Then Moses lifted up 
his hand, and at once a great tide of water swept up from the sea 
on the south; the road over which the Israelites had walked in 
safety was covered with water ; and the host of Pharoah, with 
all his chariots and his horses and their riders were drowned in 
the sea, before the eyes of the people of Israel. They saw the 
dead bodies of the Egyptians tossed up by the waves on the shore. 

Moses wrote a great song, and all the people sang it together, 
over this great victory, which God had wrought for them. It 
began thus : 

" I will sing unto the Lord, for he hath triumphed gloriously, 
The horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea, 
The Lord is my strength and song, 
And he is become my salvation."* 

And now the people of Israel were no longer in a level land, 
with fields of grain, and abundance of food, and streams of water. 
They were in the great desert, with a rocky path under them, and 
mountains of rock rising all around, with only a few springs of 
water, and these far apart. Such a host of men, and women, 

* See Exodus xv for the words of this song 



The Bread from Heaven 137 

and children, with their flocks, would need much water, and they 
found very little. 

They saw in the distance some springs of water, and ran to 
drink of it, for they were very thirsty. But when they tasted, 
they found it bitter, so that they could not drink it. Then the 
people cried to Moses, and Moses cried to the Lord; and the Lord 
showed Moses a tree, and told him to cut it down and throw it 
into the water. Moses did so, and then the water became fresh, 
and pure, and good, so that the people could drink it. This place 
they named Marah, a word which means " bitterness," because 
of the water which they found there. 

After passing Marah, they came to another and more pleasant 
place, where they saw twelve springs of fresh water, and a grove 
of seventy palm-trees around them. And there they rested under 
the cool shade 

But soon they were in a hot desert of sand, which lies between 
the waters of Elim and Mount Sinai ; and again they were in great 
trouble, for there was no food for such an army of people. 

Then Moses called upon God, and the Lord said, " I will rain 
bread from heaven upon you; and you shall go out and gather 
it every day." 

The next morning, when the people looked out of their tents, 
they saw all around the camp, on the sand, little white flakes, 
like snow or frost. They had never seen anything like it before, 
and they said, just as anybody would say, ''What is it?" In 
the language of the Israelites, the Hebrew language, "What is 
it?" is the word "Manhu," So the people said to one another 
"Manhu? Manhu?" And this gave a name afterward to what 
they saw, the name Manr.a. 

And Moses said to them, ''This is the bread which the Lord 
has given you to eat. Go out and gather it, as much as you need. 
But take only as much as you need for to-day, for it will not keep ; 
and God will give you more to-morrow." 

So the people went out, and gathered the manna. They 
cooked it in various ways, baking it and boiling it; and the taste 
of it was like wafers flavored with honey. Some took more than 
they needed, not trusting God's word that there would be more 
on the next day. But that which was left over, after it was gath- 
ered, spoiled, and smelled badly, so that it was useless. This 



138 How the Sea Became Dry Land 

was to teach the people that each day they should trust God for 
their daily bread. 

But the manna which was left on the ground did not spoil. 
When the sun came up, it melted away, just like frost or snow 
flakes. Before the sixth day of the week came, Moses said to 
the people : 

"To-morrow, on the sixth day of the week, take twice as 
much manna as usual; for the next day is the Lord's Sabbath, 
the day of rest, and the manna will not come on that day." 

So the next morning, all the people went out as before to 
gather the manna. On that day, they found that the manna 
which was not used did not spoil, but kept fresh until the next 
morning. 

On the Sabbath-day, some of the people who . had failed to 
hear Moses, and had not gathered the manna in advance for the 
Sabbath, went out, and they could find none. So that day, 
these people had nothing to eat; and all Israel learned the lesson, 
which we also should remember, that one day in each week belongs 
to God, and is to be kept holy to the Lord. 

All the time that the Israelites lived in the wilderness, which 
was forty years, they ate the manna which God gave them day 
by day. Not until they entered the land of Canaan, did the 
manna cease to fall. 

Do you remember, who it was, long after this, that said "I 
am the bread of life. He that cometh to me shall never hunger, 
and he that believeth on me, shall never thirst?"* 

* See John vi : 35. 




MOSES POINTING TO THE SERPENT OF BRASS 



Story CtDenty=itr>e. 



THE MOUNTAIN THAT SMOKED AND 

THE WORDS THAT WERE SPOKEN 

FROM IT. 

Exodus xvii : i, to xxxi : 18. 




,HILE the Israelites were journeying through the desert 
they had great trouble from want of water. Between 
the wells of Elim and Mount Sinai, they found no 
streams nor springs. Their sheep and men suffered 
from thirst, and the little children were crying for 
water. The people came to Moses, and said in great anger: 

"Give us water, or we shall die. Why have you brought 
us up from Egypt to kill us here in the desert?" 
And Moses called on God, and said : 

"Lord, what shall I do to this people? They are almost 

ready to stone me in their anger. How can I give them water?" 

Then God told Moses what to do ; and this was what Moses did : 

He brought the people together before a great rock, and with 

his rod he struck the rock. Then out of the rock came forth a 

stream of water, which ran like a little river through the camp, 

and gave them plenty of water for themselves and for their flocks. 

While they w r ere in camp . around this rock at Rephidim 

the wild people who had their homes in the desert, and were called 

the Amalekites, made sudden war on the Israelites. They came 

down upon them from the mountains, while they were weary with 

marching, and killed some of the Israelites. Then Moses called 

out those of the people who were fit for war, and made a young 

man named Joshua their leader ; and they fought a battle with the 

Amalekites. 

While they were fighting, Moses stood on a rock, where all 
could see him, and prayed the Lord God to help his people. His 
hands were stretched out toward heaven ; and while Moses' hands 

(139) 



i4o Words Spoken from Smoking Mountain 



were reaching upward the Israelites were strong, and drove back 
the enemy. But when Moses' arms fell down, then the enemy 
drove back the men of Israel. 

So Aaron, Moses' brother, and Hur (who is thought to have 

been Moses' brother-in-law, the 
husband of his sister Miriam), 
stood beside Moses, and held up 
his hands until the Israelites 
won the victory, and overcame 
the men of Amalek. 

In the third month after 
the Israel- 
ites had left 
the land of 
Egypt they 
came to a 
great moun- 
tain which 
rises straight 
up from the 
plain, so 
straight 
that one can 
walk up to 
it and touch 
it with his 
hand. This 
w a s Mount 
Sinai ; and 
it was one 
of a group 

MOSES STRIKES THE ROCK. OI lHOtlll- 

tains called 
Horeb, where Moses saw the burning bush, and heard God's voice, 
as we read in Story Twenty-one. 

The Israelites made their camp in front of Mount Sinai, and 
stayed there for many days. And God said to Moses : 

''Let none of the people go up on the mount, or come near to 
touch it. If even one of your cattle or sheep shall touch the 




The Ten Commandments 141 

mountain it must be killed. This is a holy place, where God will 
show his glory." 

And a few days after this, the people heard the voice as of 
many trumpets sounding on the top of the mountain. They 
looked, and saw that the mountain was covered with clouds and 
smoke, and lightnings were flashing from it, while the thunder 
rolled and crashed. And the mountain shook and trembled, as 
though an earthquake were tearing it in pieces. 

The people were filled with alarm. They came out of their 
tents, and ran back from the foot of the mountain, and stood far 
off, trembling with fear. Then God spoke in the hearing of all the 
people, as with a voice of thunder, and said : 

11 1 am the Lord thy God, who brought thee out of the land of 
Egypt, out of the house of bondage." 

And then God spoke to all the people the words of the Ten 
Commandments, to which you have listened many times. The 
words are these; 

1. 

Thou shalt have none other gods but me. 

II. 

Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, nor any 
likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth 
beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. Thou shalt not 
bow down thyself to them, nor serve them ; for I the Lord thy God 
am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the 
children, unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate 
me ; and showing mercy unto thousands of them that love me and 
keep my commandments. 

III. 

Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; 
for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in 
vain. 

IV. 

Remember the Sabbath-day to keep it holy. Six days shalt 
thou labor, and do all thy work ; but the seventh day is the Sab 
bath of the Lord thy God ; in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, 
nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy man-servant, nor thy maid- 
servant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates; 
for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all 



i 4 2 Words Spoken from Smoking Mountain 

that in them is, and rested the seventh day; wherefore the Lord 
blessed the Sabbath-day, and hallowed it 

V. 

Honor thy father and thy mother ; that thy days may be long 
upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee. 

VI. 

Thou shalt not kill. 

VII. 

Thou shalt not commit adultery. 

VIII. 

Thou shalt not steal. 

IX. 
Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor. 

X. 

Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house, thou shalt not 
covet thy neighbor's wife, nor his man-servant, nor his maid- 
servant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor anything that is thy neighbor's. 

And all the people heard these words spoken by the Lord God ; 
and they saw the mountain smoking, and the lightning flashing, 
and they were frightened. They said to Moses : 

"Let not God speak to us any more; for the sound of his 
voice will take away our lives. Let God speak to you, Moses, and 
do you speak to us God's words." 

"Fear not," said Moses, "for God has come to you, to speak 
with you, that you may fear him, and do his will." 

And Moses drew near to the mountain, where the clouds and 
darkness and lightnings were. Then God called Moses up to the 
top of the mount ; and Moses went up, and with him was his helper, 
the young man Joshua, Joshua stayed on the side of the mountain, 
but Moses went up alone to the top, among the clouds. 

And there Moses stayed upon the mountain, alone with God, 
for forty days, talking with God, and listening to the words which 
God spoke to him, the laws for the people of Israel to obey. And 
God gave to Moses two flat tablets of stone, upon which God had 
written with his own hand the Ten Commandments. 



Story Ctr>enty=sbe. 



HOW AARON MADE A GOLDEN CALF, 
AND WHAT BECAME OF IT. 

Exodus xxxii : i, to xxxiv : 35. 




( HILE Moses was in the mountain alone with God, a 
strange and wicked thing was done in the camp on 
the plain. At first the people were alarmed when 
they saw the mountain smoking, and heard the 
thunder. But soon they grew accustomed to it, 
and when day after day passed, and Moses did not come down, 
at last they said to Aaron: 

41 Come now, make us a god that we may worship, and that 
we may have to lead us. As for Moses, the man who brought 
us out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of 
him." 

Aaron was not a man of strong will, as Moses was. When 
his brother Moses was not by his side Aaron was weak, and ready 
to yield to the wishes of the people. Aaron said: 

"If you must have a god that you can look at; then break 
off the gold earrings that are in your ears, and in the ears of your 
wives and children, and bring them to me." 

Then the people brought their gold to Aaron; and Aaron 
melted the gold rings into one mass, and shaped it with a graving 
tool into the form of a calf, and this he brought out and stood up 
before the people. Then they all cried out: 

" This is your god, O Israel, that brought you out of the land 
of Egypt." 

And Aaron built an altar before the image, and he said to 
all the people, "To-morrow shall be a feast to the Lord." 

Perhaps Aaron thought that if the people could have before 
them an image that they could see, they might still be kept to 
the worship of the Lord God. But in this he was greatly mistaken. 

(143) 



144 How Aaron Made a Golden Calf 

The people came to the feast, and offered sacrifices; and then 
they began to dance around the altar, and to do wicked deeds 
together, as they had seen the people of Egypt doing before their 
idols. And all this time the mountain was smoking and flashing 
with fire, almost over their heads! 

And the Lord v up in the mountain, spoke to Moses, and said: 
Hasten, and get down to the camp; for your people have 
dont; very wickedly. They have made for themselves an idol, 
and they are worshipping it now. I am angry with them, and 
am ready to destroy them all, and to make of your children a great 
nation." 

And Moses pleaded with the Lord for Israel, and God did 
not destroy the people; but he sent Moses down to them, holding 
in his hands the two stone tables on which God had written the 
Ten Commandments. As he went down the mountain Joshua 
joined him, and said to him: 

" I can hear noise of war in the camp. It is not the sound of 
men who are shouting for victory, nor is it the cry of those who 
are beaten in battle; it is the voice of singing that I hear." 

And in a moment more, as they stood where they could look 
down upon the camp, there was standing the golden calf, and 
around it were the people making offerings, and feasting, and 
dancing and singing. 

And Moses was so angry when he saw all the wickedness and 
shame of his people, that he threw down the two tables out of 
his hands, and broke them in pieces upon the rocks. What was 
the use of keeping the tables of stone, he may have thought, while 
the people were breaking the laws written upon them? 

Moses came straight into the midst of the throng, and at 
once all the dancing and merry-making stopped. He tore 
down the golden calf, and broke it in pieces, and burned it in the 
fire, and ground it to powder, and threw it into the water; and 
he made the people drink the water filled with its dust. He meant 
to teach the people that they would suffer punishment like bitter 
water, for their wicked deed. 

Then Moses turned to Aaron: 

"What led you to such an act as this?" said Moses. "Why 
did you let the people persuade you to make them an image for 
worship?" 




THE PEOPLE OF ISRAEL BOWING BEFORE THE GOLDEN CALF 



Worshippers of the Idol Slain 



US 



And Aaron said, "Do not be angry with me; you know how 
the hearts of this people are set to do evil. They came to me 
and said, 'make us a god, ' and I said to them, 'give me whatever 
gold you have.' So they gave it to me, and I threw the gold into 
the fire, and this calf came out!" 

Then Moses stood at the entrance to the camp, and called out : 
" Whoever is on the Lord's side, let him come and stand by 




MOSES BRINGS THE TABLES OF STONE. 



me!" Then one whole tribe out of the twelve tribes of Israel, the 
tribe of Levi, all sprung from Levi, one of Jacob's sons, came and 
stood beside Moses. And Moses said to them: 

" Draw your swords, and go through the camp, and kill every 
one whom you find bowing down to the idol. Spare no one. Slay 
your friends and your neighbors, if they are worshipping the image." 

And on that day three thousand of the worshippers of the 
idol were slain by the sons of Levi. 



146 How Aaron Made a Golden Calf 

Then Moses said to the people, "You have sinned a great 
sin; but I will go to the Lord, and I will make an offering to 
him, and will ask him to forgive your sin." 

And Moses went before the Lord, and prayed for the people, 
and said: 

"Oh Lord, this people have sinned a great sin. Yet, now, 
forgive their sin, if thou art willing. And if thou wilt not forgive 
their sin, then let me suffer with them, for they are my people." 

And the Lord forgave the sin of the people, and took them 
once again for his own, and promised to go with them, and to lead 
them into the land which he had promised to their fathers. 

And God said to Moses, "Cut out two tables of stone, like 
those which I gave to you, and which you broke ; and bring them 
up to me in the mountain, and I will write on them again the 
words of the law." 

So Moses went up a second time into the holy mount; and 
there God talked with him again. Moses stayed forty days on 
this second meeting with God, as he had stayed in the mountain 
forty days before. And all this time, while God was talking with 
Moses, the people waited in the camp; and they did not again 
set up any idol for worship. 

Once more Moses came down the mountain, bringing the two 
stone tables, upon which God had written the words of his law, 
the Ten Commandments. And Moses had been so close to God's 
glory, and had been so long in the blaze of God's light, that when 
he came into the camp of Israel, his face was shining, though he 
did not know it. The people could not look on Moses' face, 
it was so dazzling. And Moses found that when he talked with 
the people, it was needful for him to wear a vail over his face. 
When Moses went to talk with God, he took off the vail ; but while 
he spoke with the people, he kept his face covered, for it shone as 
the sun. 



Story £tr>enty=set>en. 



THE TENT WHERE GOD LIVED AMONG 
HIS PEOPLE. 

Exodus xxxv : i, to xl : 38. 




>T may seem strange that the Israelites, after all that 
God had done for them, and while Mount Sinai was 
still showing God's glory, should fall away from the 
service of God to the worship of idols, as we read 
in the last Story (Twenty-six) . But you must keep 
in mind that all the people whom the Israelites had ever met, 
both in Canaan and in Egypt, were worshippers of images; and 
from their neighbors the Israelites also had learned to bow down 
to idols. In those times everywhere people felt that they must 
have a god that they could see. 

God was very good to the Israelites after they had forsaken 
him, to take them again as his own people: and God gave to the 
Israelites a plan for worship, which would allow them to have 
something that they could see, to remind them of their God; and 
yet, at the same time, would not lead them to the worship of an 
image, but would teach them a higher truth, that the true God 
cannot be seen by the eyes of men. 

The plan was this : to have in the middle of the camp of Israel 
a house to be called, "The House of God," which the people could 
see, and to which they could come for worship. Every time that 
an Israelite looked at this house he might say to himself, and 
might teach his children, "That is the house where God lives among 
his people," even though no image stood in the house. 

And as the Israelites were living in tents, and were often 
moving from place to place, this House of God, would need to be 
something like a tent, so that it could be taken down, and moved, 
as often as the camp was changed. Such a tent as this was called 
a Tabernacle. The Tabernacle then was the tent where God was 

(147) 



148 Where God Lived Among His People 

supposed to live among his people, and where the people could 
meet God. We do not know just how the tent looked but from 
the description given of it many have tried to draw it. We give 
you one picture drawn in this way. 

We know that God is a Spirit, and has no body like ours; 
and that he is everywhere. Yet it was right to say that God lived 
in the Tabernacle of the Israelites, because there God showed his 
presence in a special way, by having the pillar of cloud over it 
all day, and the pillar of fire all night. And it was believed by 




THE TABERNACLE IN THE WILDERNESS. 



the Israelites that in one room of this Tabernacle the glory and 
brightness of God's presence might be seen. 

This Tabernacle stood exactly in the middle of the camp 
of the Israelites in the wilderness. In front of it, and a little 
distance from it, en the east, stood the tent where Moses lived, 
and from which he gave the laws and commands of God to the 
people. 

Around the Tabernacle there was what we might call an open 
square, though it was not exactly square, for it was about a hundred 
and fifty feet long by seventy-five feet wide; that is its length 
was twice its width. Around it was a curtain of fine linen, in 



The Altar of Burnt-Offering 149 

bright colors, hanging upon posts of brass. The posts were held 
in place by cords fastened to the ground with tent-pins or spikes. 
Some think that these posts were not of brass, but of copper; for 
we are not sure that men knew how to make brass in those times. 
This open square was called the Court of the Tabernacle. The 
curtain around it was between seven and eight feet high, a little 
higher than a man's head. In the middle, on the end toward the 
east, it could be opened for the priests to enter into the court; 
but no others except the priests and their helpers were ever allowed 
to enter it. 

Inside this court, near the entrance, stood the great Altar. 
You remember that an altar was made generally of stone, or by 
heaping up the earth; and that it was the place on which a fire 
was kindled to burn the offering or sacrifice. The offering or 
sacrifice, you remember, was the gift offered to God whenever a 
man worshipped ; and it was given to God by being burned upon 
his altar. (See Story Two.) 

But as a stone-altar or an earth-altar could not be carried 
from place to place, God told the Israelites to make an altar of 
wood and brass, or copper. It was like a box, without bottom 
or top, made of thin boards so that it would not be too heavy, and 
then covered on the inside and the outside with plates of brass 
or copper, so that it would not take fire and burn. Inside, a few 
inches below the top, was a metal grating on which the fire was 
built; and the ashes would tali through the grating to the ground 
inside. 

This altar had four rings on the corners, through which 
long poles were placed, so that the priests could carry it on their 
shoulders when the camp was moved. The altar was a little less 
than five feet high, and a little more than seven feet wide on each 
side. This was the great altar, sometimes called "The Altar of 
Burnt-Offering," because a sacrifice was burned upon it every 
morning and every evening. Near the altar in the court of the 
Tabernacle, stood the Laver. This was a large tank or basin, 
holding water which was used in washing the offerings. For the 
worship of the Tabernacle much water was needed; and for this 
purpose the Laver was kept full of water. 

The Tabernacle itself stood in the court. It Avas a large tent, 
not unlike the tents in which the people lived, while they were 



I 5° Where God Lived Among His People 

journeying through the wilderness, though larger. Its walls, 
however, were not made of skins or woven cloth, as were most 
tents, but of boards standing, upright on silver bases, and fastened 
together. The boards were covered with gold. The roof of the 
Tabernacle was made of four curtains, one laid above another; 
the inner curtain being beautifully decorated, and the outer 
curtain of rams' skins to keep out the rain. The board-walls of the 
Tabernacle were on the two sides and the rear end; the front was 
open, except when a curtain was hung over it. The Tabernacle, 
half tent and half house, was about forty-five feet long, and fifteen 
feet wide, and fifteen feet high. Its only floor was the sand of the 
desert. 

This Tabernacle was divided into two rooms, by a vail which 
hung down from the roof. The larger room, the one on the eastern 
end, into which the priest came first from the court, was twice 
as large as the other room. It was thirty feet long, fifteen feet 
wide, and fifteen feet high, and was called the Holy Place. In 
the Holy Place were three things : on the right side, as one entered, 
a table covered with gold, on which lay twelve loaves of bread, 
as if each tribe gave its offering of food to the Lord; on the left 
side, the Golden Lampstand, with seven branches, each having 
its light. This is sometimes called the Golden Candlestick, but 
as it held lamps, and not candles, it should be called "the lamp- 
stand." 

At the further end of the Holy Place, close to the vail, was 
the Golden Altar of Incense: a small altar on which fragrant gum 
was burned, and from which a silvery cloud floated up. The fire 
on this altar was always to be lighted from the great altar of brass 
or copper that was standing outside the Tabernacle in the court. 
Everything in this room was made of gold, or covered with gold, 
even to the walls on each side. 

The inner room of the Tabernacle was called the Holy of 
Holies; and it was so sacred that no one except the high-priest 
ever entered it, and he on only one day in each year. It was 
fifteen feet wide, fifteen feet long, and fifteen feet high. All that 
it held was a box or chest, made of wood and covered with plates 
of gold on both the outside and the inside; and with a cover of 
solid gold, on which stood two strange figures called cherubim, 
also made of gold. This chest was called the Ark of the Covenant, 



How They Moved the Tabernacle 151 

and in it were placed for safe -keeping, the two stone tables on 
which God wrote the Ten Commandments. It was in this room, 
the Holy of Holies, that God was supposed to dwell, and to show 
his glory. But in it there was no image, to tempt the Israelites 
to the worship of idols. 

Whenever the camp in the desert was to be changed, the 
priests first carefully covered with curtains all the furniture in 
the Tabernacle, — the Table, the Lampstand, the Altar of Incense, 
and the Ark of the Covenant; and they passed rods through the 
rings which were on the corners of all these articles. They took 




THE HIGH PRIEST, THE TABLE FOR BREAD AND THE HOLY ARK. 

down the Tabernacle and tied its gold-covered boards and its 
great curtains, its posts and its pillars, in packages to be carried. 
And then the men of the tribe of Levi, who were the helpers 
of the priests, took up their burdens and carried them out in 
front of the camp. The twelve tribes were arranged in march- 
ing order behind them ; the Ark of the Covenant unseen under its 
wrappings, upon the shoulders of the priests, led the way, with 
the pillar of cloud over it. And thus the children of Israel 
removed their camp from place to place for forty years in the 
wilderness. 



152 How They Worshipped in the Tabernacle 

When they fixed their camping-place after each journey, 
the Tabernacle was first set up, with the court around it, and 
the altar in front of it. Then the tribes placed their tents in 
order around it, three tribes on each of its four sides. 

And whenever an Israelite saw the altar with the smoke 
rising from it, and the Tabernacle with the silver-white cloud- 
above it, he said to himself, "Our God, the Lord of all the earth, 
lives in that tent. I need no image, made by men's hands, to 
remind me of God." 



Story Ctt>enty=etc$t. 



HOW THEY WORSHIPPED GOD IN THE 
TABERNACLE. 

Leviticus i : i to 13 ; viii : 1 to 13; Exodus xxvii : 20, 21. 




OW we will tell about some of the services that were 
held at the Tabernacle, the tent where God lived 
among his people. 

Every morning at sunrise the priests came to 
the great altar that was before the Tabernacle, and 
raked the fire, and placed fresh wood upon it, so that it would burn 
brightly. This fire was never allowed to go out. God had kindled 
it himself; and the priests watched it closely, and kept wood at 
hand, so that it was always burning. 

Even while the altar was being carried from one place to 
another, the embers and live coals of the fire were kept in a covered 
pan, and were taken to the new place for the altar without being 
allowed to die out ; and from the embers of the old fire a new fire 
was made on the altar. 



The Lamb on the Altar 153 

From this altar outside the Tabernacle the priest took every 
morning and every afternoon a fire-shovel full of burning coals, and 
placed them in a bowl hanging on chains, so that, with the fire in it, 
the bowl could be carried by hand. This bowl with the chains was 
called "a censer." Upon these burning coals the priest placed 
some fragrant gum called incense, which when laid on the live coals 
made a bright silvery cloud and sent forth a strong, pleasant odor. 
The incense in the censer the priest carried into the Holy Place, 
and there laid it on the golden altar of incense, which stood next 
to the vail. This was to teach the Israelites that, like the cloud of 
incense, their pra}/ers should go up to God. 

About nine o'clock in the morning the priest brought a young 
ox or lamb, and killed it, and caught its blood in a basin. Then 
he laid the ox or the lamb on the wood which was burning on the 
altar in front of the Tabernacle, and on the fire he poured also the 
blood of the slain beast ; and then he stood by while the blood and 
the animal were burned to ashes. 

This was the offering, or sacrifice, for all the people of Israel 
together, and it was offered every morning and every afternoon. 
It meant that as the lamb, or the ox, gave up his life, so all the 
people were to give themselves to God, to be his, and only his. And 
it meant also, that as they gave themselves to God, God would 
forgive and take away their sins. 

There was another meaning in all this service. It was to point 
to the time when, just as the lamb died as an offering for the people, 
Jesus, the Son of God, should give his life on the cross, the Lamb of 
God, dying to take away the sins of the world. But this meaning, 
of course, the Israelites of that time could not understand, because 
they lived long before Christ came. 

Sometimes a man came to the priest with a lamb or an ox as 
an offering for himself. It must always be a perfect animal, and 
the best, without any defects, for God will only take from man his 
best. The man who wished to worship God led his lamb to the 
entrance of the court, by the altar ; and laid his hands upon its head, 
as if to say, "This animal stands in my place; and when I give it 
to God., I give myself." Then the priest killed it, and laid it on the 
burning wood on the altar, and poured the animal's blood upon it. 
And the man stood at the entrance of the court of the Tabernacle, 
and watched it burn away, and offered with it his thanks to God 



i54 How They Worshipped in the Tabernacle 



and his prayer for the forgiveness of his sins. And God heard and 
answered the prayer of the man who worshipped him with the 
offering at his altar. 

Every day the priest went into the Holy Place and filled the 
seven lamps on the Lampstand with fresh oil. These lamps were 

never allowed to 
go out; that is, 
some of them 
must always be 
kept burning. 
While the lamps 
on one side were 
put out, in order 
to be refilled, 
those on the 
other side were 
kept burning 
until these had 
been filled and 
lighted once 
more. So the 
lamps in the 
house of God 
never went out. 
Does not this 
make you think 
of One who long 
after this said, "I 
am the light of 
the world"?* 

On the gold- 
covered table in 
the Holy Place 
were always standing twelve loaves of unleavened bread ; that is, 
bread made without any yeast. One loaf stood for each tribe of 
Israel. On every Sabbath morning the priests came in with twelve 
fresh loaves, which they sprinkled with incense, and laid on the 
table in place of the stale loaves. Then, standing around the table, 

* See John viii : 1 2 




THE HIGH PRIEST. 



The Priests in the Tabernacle 



155 



they ate the twelve old loaves. Thus the bread on the table 
before the Lord was kept fresh at all times. 

God chose Aaron and his sons to be the priests for all Israel; 
and their children, and the descendants who should come after 
them were to be priests as long as the worship of the Tabernacle, and 
of the Temple that followed it, should be continued. Aaron, as the 
high-priest, wore a splendid robe; and a breast-plate of precious 
stones was over his bosom; and a peculiar hat, called "a miter," 
was on his head. It may seem strange to us, that when Aaron and 
his sons were in the Tabernacle, they wore no shoes or stockings, 
but stood barefooted. This was because it was a holy place, and 
as we have seen (see Story Twenty-one) , in those lands people take 
off their shoes, as we take off our hats, when they enter places sacred 
to God and his worship. 

Aaron and his sons, as Moses also, belonged to the tribe of Levi, 
the one among the tribes which stood faithful to God, when the 
other tribes bowed down to the golden calf. This tribe was chosen 
to help the priests in the services of the Tabernacle; though only 
Aaron and his sons could enter the Holy Place ; and only the high- 
priest could go into the Holy of Holies, where the Ark of the Cove- 
nant was ; and he could enter on but one day in each year. 

* See John vi 135. 




THE GOLDEN CANDLESTICK. 



Story €tt>enty=mne. 



WHAT STRONG DRINK BROUGHT TO 
AARON'S SONS. 

Leviticus x : i,to n. 




00N after the Tabernacle was set up in the middle of 
the camp of Israel, and the priests began the daily 
service of worship, a sad event took place, which 
gave great sorrow to Aaron the priest, to his family, 
and to all the people. The two older sons of Aaron, 
whose names were Nadab and Abihu, were one day in the Holy 
Place. It was a part of their work to take in a censer some burn- 
ing coals from the great altar of burnt-offering in front of the 
Tabernacle, and with these coals to light the fire in the small golden 
altar of incense, which stood inside the Holy Place, near the vail. 

These young men had been drinking wine, and their heads w 7 ere 
not clear. They did not think of what they were doing; and 
instead of taking the fire from the altar of burnt-offering, they 
took some other fire, and with this went into the Holy Place to 
burn the incense upon the golden altar. God was angry with these 
young men for coming into his holy house in a drunken state, and 
for doing what he had forbidden them to do ; for no fire except that 
from the great altar was allowed in the Holy Place. 

While they were standing by the golden altar, fire came out 
from it, and they both fell down dead in the Holy Place. And 
when Moses heard of it, he said: "This is the sign that God's 
house is holy, and that God's worship is holy ; and God will make 
people to fear him, because he is holy. ' ' And Moses w r ould not 
allow Aaron, the father of these two men, to touch their dead bodies. 
He said, "You have on the robes of the high-priest, and you are 
leading in the service of worship. God's work must go on, and 
must not stop for your trouble, great as it is." 

Then Aaron stood by the altar, and offered the sacrifice, though 

(156) 



A Good Rule for All 



157 



his heart was very sad. And the cousins of Aaron, by the com- 
mand of Moses, went into the Holy Place and carried out the dead 
bodies of the two young men, dressed as they were in their priests' 
robes. And they buried these men outside the camp, in the desert. 

And Moses said: 

''After this, let no priest drink wine or strong drink before he 
enters the Tabernacle. Be sober, when you are leading the worship 
of the people, so that you will know the difference between the 
things that are holy and those that are common ; and so that you 
may teach the people all the laws which the Lord has given them." 

The rule that Moses gave to the priests to be kept when they 
were leading the worship of the people, not to drink wine or strong 
drink, is a good rule for every one to keep, not only when wor- 
shipping God, but at all times. 

Besides these two sons of Aaron who had died, there were two 
other sons, named Eleazar and Ithamar. These young men took 
their older brothers' places in the services of the Tabernacle ; and 
they were very careful to do exactly as the Lord had bidden them. 




THE BRAZEN ALTAR. 



Story Cfytrty. 



THE SCAPEGOAT IN THE WILDERNESS. 

Leviticus xvi : i to 34. 




OU have read that only the high-priest could enter the 
inner room of the Tabernacle, called the Holy of 
Holies, where was the ark of the covenant, ' and 
where God was supposed to live. (See Story Twenty- 
seven.) And even the high-priest could go into this 
room on but one day in the year. This day was called "the Great 
Day of Atonement." 

The service on that day was to show the people that all are 
sinners, and that they must seek from God to have their sins taken 
away. God teaches us these things by word in his book, the Bible ; 
but in those times there was no. Bible, and very few could have read 
a written book; so God taught the people then by acts which they 
could see. 

As a beginning of the service on the day of atonement, every- 
body was required to fast from sunset on the day before until three 
o'clock on that afternoon, the hour when the offering was placed on 
the altar. No person could eat anything in all that time. Even 
children, except nursing babies, were not allowed to have any food. 
They were to show a sorrow for sin, and were to appear before God 
as seeking for mercy. 

Early in the morning of that day the high-priest offered on the 
altar before the Tabernacle what was called "a sin-offering, " for 
himself and his family. It was a young ox, burned upon the altar. 
He took some of the blood of this ox, and carried it through the Holy 
Place, lifted the vail, enteredinto the Holy of Holies, and sprinkled' 
the blood on the golden lid to the ark of the covenant before the 
Lord. This was to show the priest himself as a sinner, seeking 
mercy and forgiveness from God. The priest must himself have his 
own sins forgiven, before asking forgiveness for others. 

Then the priest came again to the great altar before the Taber- 

(158) 



The Goat Sent Away 



159 



nacle. Here two goats were brought to him. Lots were cast upon 
them and on the forehead of one goat was written, " For the Lord," 
and on the other words that meant, "To be sent away." These 
two goats were looked upon as bearing the sins of the people. One 
was killed, and burned on the altar ; and the priest, with some of 
the blood of the slain goat, again entered the Holy of Holies, and 
sprinkled the blood on the ark of the covenant, as before, thus 




THE SCAPEGOAT. 



asking God to receive the blood and the offering, and to forgive the 
sins of the people. 

Then the high-priest came out of the Tabernacle again, and 
laid his hands on the head of the living goat, the one whose forehead 
was marked "To be sent away," as if to place upon him the sin of 
all the people. Then this goat, which was called the "Scapegoat," 
was led away into the wilderness, to some desolate place from which 
he would never find his way back to the camp ; and there he was 
left, to wander as he chose. This was to show the sins of the people 
as taken away, never to come back to them. 

When this service was over, the people were looked upon as 



x6o 



The Scapegoat in the Wilderness 



having their sins forgiven and forgotten by the Lord. Then the 
regular afternoon offering was given on the altar; and after that 
the people could go home happy, and end their long fast with all the 
food that they wished to eat. 

In all this God tried to make the people feel that sin is terrible. 
It separates from God ; it brings death ; it must be taken away by 
blood. Thus so long before Christ came to take away our sins by 
his death, God showed to men the way of forgiveness and peace. 




MOSES COMES DOWN FROM MT. SINAI WITH TABLES OF STONE. 
(See Story Twenty-four.) 



Story Cfyirty=one. 



THE CLUSTER OF GRAPES FROM THE 
LAND OF CANAAN. 

Numbers xiii : i, to xiv : 45. 




HE Israelites stayed in their camp before Mount Sinai 
almost a year, while they were building the Taber- 
nacle and learning God's laws given through Moses. 
At last the cloud over the Tabernacle rose up ; and 
the people knew that this was the sign for them to 
move. They took down the Tabernacle and their own tents, 
and journeyed northward toward the land of Canaan for many 
days led by the pillar of cloud by day, and the pillar of fire by 
night. 

At last they came to a place just on the border between the 
desert and Canaan, called Kadesh, or Kadesh-barnea. Here they 
stopped to rest, for there were many springs of water and some grass 
for their cattle. While they were waiting at Kadesh-barnea, and 
were expecting soon to march into the land which was to be their 
home, God told Moses to send onward some men who should walk 
through the land, and look at it, and then come back and tell what 
they had found; what kind of a land it was, and what fruits and 
crops grew in it, and what people were living in it. The Israelites 
could more easily win the land, if these men after walking through it 
could act as their guides, and point out the best places in it and the 
best plans of making war upon it. There was need of wise and bold 
men for such a work as this, for it was full of danger. 

So Moses chose out some men of high rank among the people, 
one ruler from each tribe, twelve men in all. One of these was 
Joshua, who was the helper of Moses in caring for the people, and 
another was Caleb, who belonged to the tribe of Judah. These 
twelve men went out, and walked over the mountains of Canaan, and 
Looked at the cities, and saw the fields. In one place, just before 
they came back to the camp, they cut down a cluster of ripe grapes 
11 (161) 



162 Cluster of Grapes from the Land of Canaan 



which was so large that two men carried it between them, hanging 
from a staff. They named the place where they found this bunch 
of grapes Eshcol, a word which means "a cluster." These twelve 
men were called "spies," because they went "to spy out the land." 
After forty days they came back to the camp ; and this was what 
they said: 

"We walked all over the land, and found it a rich land. There 

is grass for all our 
flocks, and fields where 
we can raise grain, and 
trees bearing fruits, 
and streams running 
down the sides of the 
hills. But we found 
that the people who 
livethere are very 
strong, and are men 
of war. They have 
cities with walls that 
reach almost up to 
the sky; and some 
of the men are giants, 
so tall that we felt 
that we were like 
grasshoppers beside 
them." 

One of the spies, 
who was Caleb, said, 
"All that is true, yet 
we need not be afraid 
to go up and take the 
land. It is a good land, 
God is on our side, and he will help us to 




THE TWO YOUNG MEN CARRIED A CLUSTER OF GRAP 
BETWEEN THEM. 



well worth fighting for. 
overcome those people." 

But all the other spies, except Joshua, said, "No; there is no 
use in trying to make war upon such strong people. We can never 
take those walled cities, and we dare not fight those tall giants." 

And the people, who had journeyed all the way through the 
wilderness to find this very land, were so frightened by the words 



Back from Canaan into the Desert 163 

of the ten spies, that now on the very border of Canaan they dared 
not enter it. They forgot that God had led them out of Egypt, 
that he had kept them in the dangers of the desert, that he had 
given them water out of the rock, and bread from the sky, and his 
law from the mountain. 

All that night, after the spies brought back their report, the 
people were so filled with fear that they could not sleep. They cried 
out against Moses, and blamed him for bringing them out of the land 
of Egypt. They forgot all their troubles in Egypt, their toil and 
their slavery; and they resolved to go back to that land. They 
said, " Let us choose a ruler in place of Moses, who has brought us 
into all these evils, and let us turn back to the land of Egypt!" 

But Caleb and Joshua, two of the spies, said, "Why should 
we fear? The land of Canaan is a good land; it is rich with milk 
and honey. If God is our friend and is with us, we can easily 
conquer the people who live there. Above all things, let us not 
rebel against the Lord or disobey him and make him our enemy." 

But the people were so angry with Caleb and Joshua that they 
were ready to stone them and kill them. Then suddenly the people 
saw a strange sight. The glory of the Lord, which stayed in the 
Holy of Holies, the inner room of the Tabernacle, now flashed out 
and shone from the door of the Tabernacle in the faces of the people. 

And the Lord out of this glory spoke to Moses, and said : 

" How long will this people disobey me and despise me? They 
shall not go into the good land that I have promised them. Not 
one of them shall enter in except Caleb and Joshua, who have been 
faithful to me. All of the people who are twenty years old and over 
it, shall die in the desert ; but their little children shall grow up in 
the wilderness, and when they become men they shall enter in and 
own the land that I promised to their fathers. You people are not 
worthy of the land that I have been keeping for you. Now turn 
back into the desert, and stay there until you die. After you are 
dead, Joshua shall lead your children into the land of Canaan. And 
because Caleb showed another spirit, and was true to me, and fol- 
lowed my will fully, Caleb shall live to go into the land, and shall 
have his choice of a home there. To-morrow, turn back into the 
desert by the way of the Red Sea." 

And God told Moses that for every day that the spies had spent 
in Canaan, looking at the land, the people should spend a year in the 



164 Cluster of Grapes from the Land of Canaan 

wilderness ; so that they should live in the desert forty years, instead 
of going at once into the promised land. 

When Moses told all God's words to the people, they felt worse 
than before. They changed their minds as suddenly as they had 
made up their minds. " No," they all said ; "we will not go back to 
the wilderness. We will go straight into the land, and see if we are 
able to take it, as Joshua and Caleb have said." 

" You must not go into the land," said Moses, "for you are not 
fit to go ; and God will not go with you. You must turn back into 
the desert, as the Lord has commanded." 

But the people would not obey. They rushed up the moun- 
tain, and tried to march at once into the land. But they were with- 
out leaders and without order, a mob of men untrained and in 
confusion. And the people in that part of the land, the Canaanites 
and the Amorites, came down upon them and killed many of them, 
and drove them away. Then, discouraged and beaten, they obeyed 
the Lord and Moses, and went once more into the desert. 

And in the desert of Paran, on the south of the land of Canaan, 
the children of Israel stayed nearly forty years; and all because 
they would not trust in the Lord. 

It was not strange that the Israelites should act like children, 
eager to go back one day, and then eager to go forward the next 
day. Through four hundred years they had been weakened by 
living in the hot land of Egypt ; and their hard lot as slaves had 
made them unfit to care for themselves. They were still in heart 
slavish and weak. Moses saw that they needed the free life of the 
wilderness ; and that their children, growing up as free men and 
trained for war, would be better fitted to win the land of promise 
than they had shown themselves to be. So they went back into 
the wilderness to wait and to be trained for the work of winning 
their land in war. 



.Story Cfytrty=ta>o. 



HOW THE LONG JOURNEY OF THE 
ISRAELITES CAME TO AN END. 

Numbers xx : i, to xxii : i. 




the Israelites, after coming to the border of the 
promised land, went back into the wilderness to wait 
there until all the men who had sinned against the 
Lord in not trusting his word, should die. Moses 
knew that the men who had been slaves in Egypt, 
were in their spirit slaves still, and could not fight as brave men to 
win their land. There was need of men who had been trained up 
to a free life in the wilderness ; men who would teach their children 
after them to be free and bold. 

They stayed for nearly all the forty years of waiting in the 
wilderness of Paran, south of Canaan. Very few things happened 
during those years. The young men as they grew up were trained 
to be soldiers and one by one the old men died, until very few of 
them were left. 

When the forty years were almost ended, the people came again 
to Kadesh-barnea. For some reason they found no water there. 
Perhaps the wells from which they had drawn water before were 
now dried up. The people complained against Moses, as they 
always complained when trouble came to them, and blamed him 
for bringing them into such a desert land, where there was neither 
fruit to eat nor water to drink, only great rocks all around. 
Then the Lord said to Moses : 

"Take the rod, and bring the people together, and stand before 
the rock, and speak to the rock before them; and then the water 
will come out of the rock, and the people and their flocks shall 
drink." 

Then Moses and Aaron brought all the people together before 
a great rock that stood beside the camp. And Moses stood in front 
of the rock, with the rod in his hand; but he did not do exactly 

(165) 



166 How the Journey Came to an End 



He spoke to 
bring you 



what God had told him to do, to speak to the rock, 
the people instead, in an angry manner. 

"Hear now, ye rebels," said Moses. "Shall we 
water out of this rock? " 

And Moses lifted up the rod, and struck the rock. Then he 
struck it again, and at the second blow the water came pouring out 
of the rock, just as it had come many years before from the rock 




MIRIAM SINGING THE SONG MOSES WROTE. 

at Rephidim, near Mount Sinai (see Story Twenty-five) ; and again 
there was a plenty of water for the people and their flocks. 

But God was not pleased with Moses, because Moses had 
shown anger, and had not obeyed God's command just as God had 
given it. And God said to Moses and to Aaron : 

"Because you did not show honor to me, by doing as I com- 
manded you, neither of you shall enter into the land that I have 
promised to the children of Israel." 

One act of disobedience cost Moses and Aaron the privilege of 
leading the people into their own land of promise! About this 
time, Miriam, the sister of Moses and Aaron, died at Kadesh-barnea. 



Another Long Journey 167 

You remember that when she was a little girl she helped to save the 
baby Moses, her brother, from the river (see Story Twenty). She 
also led the women in singing the song of Moses after the crossing 
of the Red Sea as told in Story Twenty-four. And soon after her 
death Moses and Aaron, and Eleazar, Aaron's son, walked together 
up a mountain called Mount Hor ; and on the top of the mountain 
Moses took off the priest's robes from Aaron, and placed them on 
his son Eleazar ; and there on the top of Mount Hor Aaron died, and 
Moses and Eleazar buried him. Then they came down to the camp 
and Eleazar took his father's place as the priest. 

While they were at Kadesh-barnea, on the south of Canaan, 
they tried again to enter the land. But they found that the Canaan- 
ites and Amorites who lived there were too strong for them ; so 
again they turned back to the wilderness, and sought another road 
to Canaan. On the south the Dead Sea, and southeast of Canaan, 
were living the Edomites, who had sprung from Esau, Jacob's 
brother, as the Israelites had sprung from Jacob (see Story Twelve) . 
Thus you see the Edomites were closely related to the Israelites. 

And Moses sent to the king of Edom, to say to him : 

"We men of Israel are your brothers. We have come out of 
the land of Egypt, where the people of Egypt dealt harshly with us, 
and now we are going to our own land, which our God has promised 
to us, the land of Canaan. We pray you let us pass through your 
land, on our way. We will do no harm to your land nor your 
people. We will walk on the road to Canaan, not turning to the 
right hand nor the left. And we will not rob your vineyards, nor 
even drink from your wells, unless we pay for the water that we use." 

But the king of Edom was afraid to have such a great host of 
people, with all their flocks and cattle, go through his land. He 
drew out his army, and came against the Israelites. Moses was not 
willing to make war on a people who were so close in their race to 
the Israelites, so instead of leading the Israelites through Edom, 
he went around it, making a long journey to the south, and then 
to the east, and then to the north again. 

It was a long, hard journey, through a deep valley which was 
very hot ; and for most of the journey they were going away from 
Canaan, and not toward it ; but it was the only way, since Moses 
would not let them fight the men of Edom. 

While they were on this long journey the people again found 



168 How the Journey Came to an End 

fault with Moses. They said, "Why have you brought us into this 
hot and sandy country? There is no water; and there is no bread 
except this vile manna, of which we are very tired ! We wish that 
we were all back in Egypt again ! " 

Then God was angry with the people; and he let the fierce 
snakes that grew in the desert crawl among them and bite them. 
These snakes were called "fiery serpents," perhaps because of their 
bright color, or perhaps because of their eyes and tongues, which 
seemed to flash out fire. Their bite was poisonous, so that many 
of the people died. 

Then the people saw that they had acted wickedly in speaking 
against Moses ; for when they spoke against Moses they were speak- 
ing against God, who was leading them. They said : 

"We have sinned against the Lord, and we are sorry. Now 
pray to the Lord for us, that he may take away the serpents from 
us." 

So Moses prayed for the people, as he had prayed so many times 
before. And God heard Moses' prayer, and God said to him: 

"Make a serpent of brass, like the fiery serpents; and set it 
up on a pole, where the people can see it. Then every one who is 
bitten may look on the serpent on the pole, and he shall live." 

And Moses did as God commanded him. He made a serpent 
of brass, which looked like the fiery snakes ; and he lifted it up on a 
pole where all could see it. And then, whoever had been bitten by 
a snake looked up at the brazen snake, and the bite did him no harm. 

This brazen snake was a teaching about Christ, though it was 
given so long before Christ came. You remember the text which 
says, "As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must 
the Son of man be lifted up ; that whosoever believeth in him may 
have eternal life."* 

Northeast of the Dead Sea, above a brook called the brook 
Arnon, lived a people who were called the Amorites. Moses sent 
to their king, whose name was Sihon, the same message as he had 
sent to the king of Edom, asking for leave to go through his land. 
But he would not allow the Israelites to pass through. He led his 
army against Israel, and crossed the brook Arnon, and fought 
against Israel at a place called Jahaz. The Israelites here won their 
first great victory. In the battle they killed many of the Amorites, 

* John iii: 14, 15. 



Looking on the Promised Land 169 

and with them their king, Sihon, and they took for their own all 
their land, as far north as the brook Jabbok. Do you remember 
how Jacob one night prayed by the brook Jabbok? (See Story 
Fourteen.) 

And after this they marched on toward the land of Canaan, 
coming from the east. And at last they encamped on the east bank 
of the river Jordan, at the foot of the mountains of Moab. Their 
long journey of forty years was now ended, the desert was left 
behind them, before them rolled the Jordan river, and beyond the 
Jordan they could see the hills of the land which God had promised 
to them for their own. 



Story Cfytrty=tfyree. 



WHAT A WISE MAN LEARNED FROM 

AN ASS. 

Numbers xxh : 2, to xxv : 18 ; xxxi : 1 to 9. 




J1EN the Israelites had travelled around the land of 
Edom, and encamped beside the river Jordan, a little 
north of the Dead Sea, they did not sit down to rest, 
for Moses knew that a great work was before them, to 
take the land of Canaan. He had already won a 
great victory over the Amorites at Jahaz, and slain their king, 
and won their land. Again Moses sent out an army into the 
north, a region called Bashan. There they fought with King Og, 
who was one of the giants, and killed him, and took his country. 
This made the Israelites masters of all the land on the east of the 
river Jordan, and north of the brook Anion. 

South of the brook Arnon and east of the Dead Sea were living 
the Moabites. This people had sprung from Lot, the nephew of 



170 What a Wise Man Learned from an Ass 

Abraham, of whom we read in earlier Stories (Six and Eight). In 
the five hundred years since Lot's time, his family or descendants 
had become a people who were called Moabites, just as Jacob's 
descendants were the Israelites. The Moabites were filled with 
alarm and fear as they saw this mighty host of Israel marching 
around their land, conquering the country and encamping on their 
border. The Moabites were ruled by a king whose name was 
Balak, and he tried to form some plan for driving away the people 
of Israel from that region. 

There was at that time a man living far in the east, near the 
great river Euphrates, whose name was Balaam. This man was 
known far and wide as a prophet, that is, a man who talked with 
God, and heard God's voice, and spoke from God, as did Moses. 
People believed that whatever Balaam said was sure to come to 
pass; but they did not know that Balaam could only speak what 
God gave him to speak. 

Balak, the king of the Moabites, sent men to Balaam at his 
home by the river, with great presents. He said to Balaam : 

''There is a people here who have come up out of Egypt, and 
they cover the whole land. I am afraid of them, for they have 
made war and beaten all the nations around. Come and curse 
them for me in the name of your God; for I believe that those 
whom you bless are blessed and prosper, and those whom you 
curse are cursed and fail." 

The men from Moab brought this message and promised to 
Balaam a great reward if he would go with them. And Balaam 
answered them, "Stay here to-night, and I will ask my God what 
to do." 

That night God came to Balaam, and said to him : 

"Who are these men at your house, and what do they want 
from you?" 

The Lord knew who they were, and what they wanted, for 
God knows all things. But he wished Balaam to tell him. And 
Balaam said: 

"They have come from Balak, the king of Moab, and they ask 
me to go with them, and to curse for them a people that have come 
out of Egypt." 

And God said to Balaam, "You must not go with these men; 
you shall not curse this people, for this people are to be blessed." 



Balaam Goes to Moab 171 

So the next morning Balaam said to the men of Moab, "Go 
back to your land; for the Lord will not let me go with you." 

When these men brought back to their king, Balak, the message 
of Balaam, the king still thought that Balaam would come, if he 
should offer him more money. So he sent other messengers, of 
high rank, the princes of Moab, with larger gifts. And they came 
to Balaam, and said: 

"Our King Balak says that you must come; he will give you 
great honors, and all the money that you ask. Come now, and 
curse this people for King Balak." 

And Balaam said: 

" If Balak should give me his house full of silver and gold, I 
cannot speak anything except what God gives me to speak. Stay 
here to-night, and I will ask my God what I may say to you." 

Now Balaam knew very well what God wished him to say ; but 
Balaam, though he was a prophet of the Lord, wished to be rich. 
He wanted to go with the men, and get Balak's money, but he did 
not dare to go against God's command. And that night God said 
to Balaam: 

11 If these men ask you to go with them, you may go ; but when 
you go to Balak's country, you shall speak only the words that I 
give you to speak." 

At this Balaam was very glad, and the next day he went with 
the princes of Moab, to go to their land, which was far to the south- 
west. God was not pleased with Balaam's going, for Balaam knew 
very well that God had forbidden him to curse Israel ; but he hoped 
in some way to get King Balak's money. 

. And God sent his angel to meet Balaam in the way. In order 
to teach Balaam a lesson, the angel appeared first to the ass on which 
Balaam was riding. The ass could see the angel with his fiery 
sword standing in front of the way, but Balaam could not see him. 
The ass turned to one side, out of the road, into an open field ; and 
Balaam struck the ass and drove it back into the road, for he could 
not see the angel, whom the ass saw. 

Then the angel appeared again, in a place where the road was 
narrow, with a stone wall on each side. And when the ass saw the 
angel it turned to one side, and crushed Balaam's foot against the 
wall. And Balaam struck the ass again. 

Again the angel of the Lord appeared to the ass in a place 



172 What a Wise Man Learned from an Ass 



where there was no place to turn aside ; and the ass was frightened, 

and fell down, while Balaam struck it again and again with his staff. 

Then the Lord allowed the ass to speak; and the ass said to 

Balaam, "What have I done that you have struck me these three 

times?" 

And Balaam 
was so angry that 
he never thought 
how strange i t 
was for an 
animal to talk ; 
and he said: "I 
struck you be- 
cause you will 
not walk as you 
should. I wish 
that I had a 
sword in my 
hand : then I 




would kill you." 

And the ass 
spoke again to 
Balaam, "Am I 
not your ass, the 
one that has 
always carried 
you? Did I ever 
disobey you be- 
fore? Why do 
you treat me so 
cruelly?" 

And then 
God opened Ba- 
laam's eyes, and let him see the angel standing with a drawn sword 
in front of him. Then Balaam leaped off from the ass to the 
ground, and fell down upon his face before the angel. And the 
angel said to Balaam, " Balaam, you know that you are going in 
the wrong way. But for the ass, which saw me, I would have 
killed you. The road that you are taking will lead you to death." 



THE ANGEL MEETS BALAAM 



THE WAY. 



Blessing Instead of Cursing 173 

And Balaam said, 4i I have sinned against the Lord; now let 
the Lord forgive me, and I will go home again." 

But the angel knew that in his heart Balaam wanted to go on 
to meet King Balak ; and the angel said : 

11 You may go with these men of Moab ; but be sure to say only 
what God gives you to speak." 

So Balaam went on, and came to the land of Moab ; and King 
Balak said to him: 

"So you have come at last! Why did you wait until I sent 
the second time ? Do you not know that I will pay you all that you 
want, if you will only do what I wish?" 

And Balaam said, "I have come to you as you asked; but I 
have no power to speak anything except what God gives me." 

King Balak thought that all Balaam said about speaking God's 
word was spoken only to get more money. He did not understand 
that a true prophet could never say anything except what was the 
will of God. He took Balaam up to the top of a mountain, from 
which they could look down upon the camp of the Israelites, as it 
lay with tents spread on the plain, and the Tabernacle in the middle, 
overshadowed by the white cloud. 

Then Balaam said, " Build for me seven altars, and bring me 
for an offering seven young oxen and seven rams." 

They did so, and while the offering was on the altar God gave 
a word to Balaam ; and then Balaam spoke out God's word : 

"The king of Moab has brought me from the east, saying, 
' Come, curse Jacob for me ; come, speak against Israel.' How shall 
I curse those whom God has not cursed ? How shall I speak against 
those who are God's own people? From the mountain-top I see 
this people dwelling alone and not like other nations. Who can 
count the men of Israel, like the dust of the earth ? Let me die the 
death of the righteous ; and let my last end be like his ! " 

And King Balak was surprised at Balaam's words. He said: 

"What have you done? I brought you to curse my enemies, 
and instead you have blessed them!" 

And Balaam answered, "Did I not tell you beforehand, that I 
could only say the words that God should put into my mouth? " 

But King Balak thought that he would try again to obtain 
from Balaam a curse against Israel. He brought him to another 
place, where they could look down on the Israelites, and again 



174 What a Wise Man Learned from an Ass 

offered sacrifices. And again God gave a message to Balaam ; and 
Balaam said: 

"Rise up, King Balak, and hear. God is not a man, that he 
should lie, or that he should change his mind. What God has said, 
that he will do. He has commanded me to bless this people ; yea, 
and blessed shall they be. The Lord God is their king, and he shall 
lead them, and give them victory." 

Then King Balak said to Balaam : 

"If you cannot curse this people, do not bless them, but leave 
them alone!" 

And Balaam said again, "Did I not tell you, that what God 
gives me to speak, that I must speak?" 

But King Balak was not yet satisfied. He brought Balaam 
to still another place, and offered sacrifices as before. And again 
the Spirit of God came on Balaam. Looking down on the camp 
of Israel, he said: 

"How goodly are your tents, O Israel! and your tabernacles, 
O Jacob ! God has brought him out of Egypt ; and God shall give 
him the land of promise. He shall destroy his enemies ; Israel shall 
be like a lion when he rises up. Blessed be every one who blesses 
him ; and cursed be every one that curses him!" 

And Balak, the king of Moab, was very angry with Balaam the 
prophet. 

"I called you," said Balak, "to curse my enemies; and you 
have blessed them over and over again. Go back to your own 
home. I meant to give you great honor and riches ; but your God 
has kept you back from your reward!" 

And Balaam said to Balak: 

"Did I not say to your messengers, ' If Balak should give me 
his house full of silver and gold, I cannot go beyond God's com-, 
mand, to say good or evil? What God speaks, that I must speak.' 
Now let me tell you what this people shall do to your people in the 
years to come. A star shall come out of Jacob, and a scepter shall 
be stretched forth from Israel that shall rule over Moab. All these 
lands, Edom, and Mount Seir, and Moab, and Ammon, shall some 
time be under the rule of Israel." 

And all this came to pass, though it was four hundred years 
afterward, when. David, the king of Israel, made all those countries 
subject to his rule. 



The End of Balaam's Life 175 

But Balaam soon showed that although for a time God spoke 
through his lips, in his heart he was no true servant of God. 
Although he could not speak a curse against the Israelites, he still 
longed for the money that King Balak was ready to give him if 
he would only help Balak to weaken the power of Israel And he 
tried another plan to do harm to Israel. 

Balaam told King Balak that the best plan for him and his 
people would be to make the Israelites their friends, to marry 
among them, and not to make war upon them. And this the 
Moabites did; until many of the Israelites married the daughters 
of Moab, and then they began to worship the idols of Moab. 

This was worse for the Israelites than making war upon them. 
For if the people of Israel should be friendly with the idol-wor- 
shipping people around them, the Moabites east of the Dead Sea, 
the Ammonites near the wilderness, and the Edomites on the 
south, they would soon forget the Lord, and begin to worship 
idols. 

There was danger that all the people would be led into sin. 
And God sent a plague of death upon the people, and many died. 
Then Moses took the men who were leading Israel into sin, and put 
them to death. And after this the Israelites made war upon the 
Moabites, and their neighbors, the Midianites, who were joined with 
them. They beat them in a great battle, and killed many of them. 
And among the men of Moab they found Balaam the prophet ; and 
they killed him also, because he had given advice to the Moabites 
which brought harm to Israel. 

It would have been better for Balaam to have stayed at home, 
and not to have come when King Balak called him; or it would 
have been well for him to have gone back to his home when the 
angel met him. He might then have lived in honor ; but he knew 
God's will, and tried to go against it, and died in disgrace among 
the enemies of God's people. 



Stoty Cfytrty=four. 



HOW MOSES LOOKED UPON THE 
PROMISED LAND. 

Numbers xxvi : i to 4, 63 to 65 ; xxxii : 1 to 42 ; Deuteronomy 

xxxi : 1, to xxxiv : 12. 




,HILE the Israelites were in their camp on the plain 
beside the river Jordan, at the foot of the mountains 
of Moab, God told Moses to count the number of the 
men who were old enough and strong enough to go 
forth to war. And Moses caused the men to be 
counted who were above twenty years of age, and found them to 
be a little more than six hundred thousand in number. Besides 
these were the women and children. 

And among them all were only three men who were above 
sixty years of age, men who had been more than twenty years old 
forty years before, when the Israelites came out of Egypt. The 
men who had been afraid to enter the land of Canaan, when they 
were at Kadesh-barnea the first time (see Story Thirty), had all 
died. Some of them had been slain by the enemies in war; some 
had died in the wilderness during the forty years ; some had perished 
by the plague ; some had been bitten by the fiery serpents. Of all 
those who had come out of Egypt as men, the only ones living were 
Moses, and Joshua, and Caleb. Moses was now a hundred and 
twenty years old. He had lived forty years as a prince in Egypt, 
forty years as a shepherd in Midian, and forty years as the leader 
of Israel in the wilderness. But although he was so very old, God 
had kept his strength. His eyes were as bright, his mind was as 
clear, and his arm and heart were as strong as they had been when 
he was a young man. 

The people of Israel had now full possession of all the land on 
the east of the river Jordan, from the brook Arnon up to the great 
Mount Hermon. Much of this land was well fitted for pasture; 

(176) 



Seeking Homes on the East of Jordan 



177 



for grass was green and rich, and there were many streams of water. 
There were two of the twelve tribes, and half of another tribe, whose 
people had great flocks of sheep and goats, and herds of cattle. 
These were the tribes which had sprung from Reuben and Gad, the 
sons of Jacob, and half of the tribe of Manasseh, the son of Joseph. 
For there were two tribes that had sprung from Joseph, his descend- 
ants, the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh. 

The men of Reuben, Gad, and half the 
men of Manasseh came to Moses, and said 

"The land on this side of the river 
is good for the feeding of sheep and 
cattle; and we are shepherds and 
herdsmen. Cannot we have our pos- 
sessions on this side of the river, 
and give all the land beyond the 
river to our brothers of the 
other tribes?" 

Moses was not pleased at 
this ; for he thought that the men 
of these tribes wished to have 
their home at once in order 
to avoid going to war with the 
rest of the tribes; and this may 
have been in their minds. 

So Moses said to them: 

"Shall your brothers of 
the other tribes go to the 
war? And shall you sit here 
in your own land, and not 
help them? That would be 
wicked, and would displease 
the Lord your God." Then the men of the two tribes and the 
half -tribe came again to Moses, and said to him : 

"We will build sheepfolds here for our sheep, and we will 
choose some cities to place our wives and our children in ; but we 
ourselves will go armed with our brothers of the other tribes, and 
will help them to take the land on the other side of the Jordan. We 
will not come back to this side of the river until the war is over, and 
our brothers have taken their shares of the land, each tribe its own 




MOSES LOOKS UPON THE PROMISED LAND. 



12 



178 Moses Looked Upon the Promised Land 

part ; and we will take no part on the other side of the river, because 
our place has been given to us here. And when the land is all won 
and divided, then we will come back here to our wives and our 
children." 

Then Moses was satisfied with the promise that they had given, 
and he divided the land on the east of the Jordan to these tribes. 
To the men of Reuben he gave the land on the south ; to the men 
of Gad the land in the middle; and to the half -tribe of Manasseh 
the land on the north, the country called Bashan. And after their 
wives and children and flocks had been been placed safely, the men 
of war came to the camp, ready to go with the other tribes across 
the river when God should call them. 

And now the work of Moses was almost done. God said to 
him: 

"Gather the children of Israel together, and speak to them 
your last words, for you are not to lead the people across the Jordan. 
You are to die in this land, as I said to you at Kadesh." (See Story 
Thirty-one.) 

Then Moses called, the leaders of the twelve tribes before his 
tent, and said to them many things, which you can read in the book 
of the Bible called Deuteronomy. There all the long speech of 
Moses is given. He told them w T hat wonderful things God had 
done for their fathers and for them. He gave them again all the 
words of God's law. He told them that they must not only keep 
God's law themselves, but must teach it to their children, so that 
it might never be forgotten. And Moses sang a song of farewell, 
and wrote down all his last words. 

Then he gave a charge to Joshua, whom God had chosen to 
take his place as the ruler and leader of the people ; though no man 
could take Moses' place as a prophet of God and the giver of God's 
law. He laid his hands on Joshua's head; and God gave to Joshua 
some of his Spirit that had been on Moses. 

Then Moses, all alone, went out of the camp, while all the 
people looked at him and wept. Slowly he walked up the moun- 
tain side, until they saw him no more. He climbed to the top of 
Mount Nebo, and stood alone upon the height, and looked at the 
Land of Promise, which lay spread out before him. Far in the 
north he could see the white crown of Mount Hermon, where there 
is always snow. At his feet, but far below, the river Jordan was 



How Moses Died 



179 



winding its way down to the Dead Sea. Across the river, at the 

foot of the mountains, was standing the city of Jericho, surrounded 

with a high wall. On the summits of .the mountains beyond he 

could see 

Hebron, 

where Abra- 

h a m , and 

Isaac, and 

Jacob were 

buried ; he 

could see 

Jerusalem, 

and Bethel, 

and the two 

mountains 

where She- 

c h e m 1 a y 

hidden in 

the center 

of the land. 

And here 

and there, 

through the 

valleys, 

could 

afar in 

west the 

gleaming 

water of the 

Great Sea. 

Then 
Moses, a 1 1 
alone, lay 
down on 

the mountain's top, and died. Aaron and Hur, who had held up the 
hands of Moses in battle (see Story Twenty -five) , had both died; 
and there was no man on Mount Nebo to bury Moses ; so God 
himself buried him, and no man knows where God laid the body of 
Moses, who had served God so faithfully. 



he 
see 
the 




MOSES HANDS UPHELD. 



180 The Story of Job 

And after Moses there was never a man who lived so near to 
God, and talked with God so freely, as one would talk face to face 
with his friend, until long afterward Jesus Christ, the Son of God, 
and greater than Moses, came among men. 



Story Cfytrty=ftoe- 



THE STORY OF JOB 

Job i : i, to ii : 13 ; xlii : 1 to 17. 




IT some time in those early days — we do not know 
just at what time, whether in the days of Moses or 
later — there was living a good man named Job. His 
home was in the land of Uz, which may have been 
on the edge of the desert, east of the land of Israel. 
Job was a very rich man. He had sheep, and camels, and oxen, 
and asses, counted by the thousand. In all the east there was no 
other man so rich as Job. 

And Job was a good man. He served the Lord God, and 
prayed to God every day, with an offering upon God's altar, as men 
worshipped in those times. He tried to live as God wished him to 
live, and was always kind and gentle. Every day, when his sons 
were out in the field, or were having a feast together in the house 
of any of them, Job went out to his altar, and offered a burnt-offering 
for each one of his sons and his daughters, and prayed to God for 
them ; for he said : 

"It may be that my sons have sinned or have turned away 
from God in their hearts ; and I will pray God to forgive them." 

At one time, when the angels of God stood before the Lord, 
Satan the Evil One came also, and stood among them, as though he 
were one of God's angels. The Lord God saw Satan, and said to 



Troubles Come to Job 



ISI 



him, "Satan, from what place have you come?" "I have come," 
answered Satan, "from going up and down in the earth and look- 
ing at the people upon it." 

Then the Lord said to Satan, " Have you looked at my ser- 
vant Job ? And have you seen that there is not another man like 
him in the earth, a good and a perfect man, one who fears God 
and does nothing evil? " Then Satan said to the Lord: " Does Job 
fear God for nothing? Hast thou not made a wall around him. 
and around his 
house, and 
around every- 
thing that he 
has? Thou hast 
given a blessing 
upon his work, 
and has made 
him rich. But if 
thou wilt stretch 
forth thy hand, 
and take away 
from him all that 
he has, then he 
will turn away 
from thee and 
will curse thee to 
thy face." 

Then the 
Lord said to the 
Evil One, "Sa- 
tan, all that Job has is in your power; you can do to his sons, 
and his flocks, and his cattle, whatever you wish ; only lay not 
your hand upon the man himself. ' ' 

Then Satan went forth from before the Lord ; and soon trouble 
began to come upon Job. One day, when all his sons and daugh- 
ters were eating and drinking together in their oldest brother's 
house, a man came running to Job, and said : 

"The oxen were plowing, and the asses were feeding beside 
them, when the wild men from the desert came upon them, and 
drove them all away ; and the men who were working with the oxen 




THE WELL OF JOB. 



182 The Story of Job 

and caring for the asses have all been killed ; and I am the only one 
who has fled away alive!" 

While this man was speaking, another man came rushing in ; 
and he said: 

''The lightning from the clouds has fallen on all the sheep, and 
on the men who were tending them; and I am the only one who 
has come away alive!" 

Before this man had ended, another came in ; and he said : 

''The enemies from Chaldea have come in three bands, and 
have taken away all the camels. They have killed the men who 
were with them; and I am the only one left alive!" 

Then at the same time, one more man came in, and said to 
Job: 

"Your sons and your daughters were eating and drinking 
together in their oldest brother's house, when a sudden and terrible 
wind from the desert struck the house, and it fell upon them. All 
your sons and your daughters are dead, and I alone have lived to 
tell you of it." 

Thus in one day, all that Job had — his flocks, and his cattle, and 
his sons and his daughters — all were taken away; and Job, from 
being rich, was suddenly made poor. Then Job fell down upon his 
face before the Lord, and he said : 

" With nothing I came into the world, and with nothing I shall 
leave it. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed 
be the name of the Lord." 

So even when all was taken from him Job did not turn away 
from God, nor did he find fault with God's doings. 

And again the angels of God were before the Lord, and Satan, 
who had -done all this harm to Job, was among them. The 
Lord said to Satan, "Have you looked, at my servant Job? 
There is no other man in the world as good as he ; a perfect man, 
one that fears God and does no wrong act. Do you see how he 
holds fast to his goodness, even after I have let you do him so great 
harm?" Then Satan answered the Lord, "All that a man has he 
will give for his life. But if thou wilt put thy hand upon him and 
touch his bone and his flesh, he will turn from thee, and will curse 
thee to thy face." 

And the Lord said to Satan, "I will give Job into your hand; 
do to him whatever you please; only spare his life." 



Job and His Friends 



183 



Then Satan went out and struck Job, and caused dreadful 
boils to come upon him, over all his body, from the soles of his feet 
to the crown of his head. And Job sat down in the ashes in great 
pain; but he would not speak one word against God. His wife 
said to him, 
"What is 
the use of 
trying to 
serve God? 
You may as 
well curse 
God , and 
die!" 

But Job 
said to her, 
"You speak 
as one of the 
foolish wo- 
men. What? 
shall we take 
good things 
from the 
Lord ? and 
shall we not 
take evil 
things also?" 
So Job would 
not speak 
against God. 
Then three 
friends of 
Job came to 
see him, and 
to try to 
comfort him 

in his sorrow and pain. Their names were Eliphaz, and Bildad, 
and Zophar. They sat down with Job, and wept, and spoke to 
him. But their words were not words of comfort. They believed 
that all these great troubles had come upon Job to punish him for 




THREE FRIENDS COME TO SEE JOB 



1*4 The Story of Job 

some great sin, and they tried to persuade Job to tell what evil 
things he had done, to make God so angry with him. 

For in those times most people believed that trouble, and 
sickness, and the loss of friends, and the loss of what they had 
owned, came to men because God was angry with them on account 
of their sins. These men thought that Job must have been very 
wicked because they saw such evils coming upon him. They made 
long speeches to Job, urging him to confess his wickedness. 

Job said that he had done no wrong, that he had tried to do 
right ; and he did not know why these troubles had come ; but he 
would not say that God had dealt unjustly in letting him suffer. 
Job did not understand God's ways, but he believed that God was 
good; and he left himself n God's hands. And at last God him- 
self spoke to Job and to his friends, telling them that it is not for 
man to judge God, and that God will do right by every man. And 
the Lord said to the three friends of Job : 

"You have not spoken of me what is right, as Job has. Now 
bring an offering to me; and Job shall pray for you, and for his 
sake I will forgive you." 

So Job prayed for his friends, and God forgave them. And 
because in all his troubles Job had been faithful to God, the Lord 
blessed Job once more, and took away his boils from him, and made 
him well. Then the Lord gave to Job more than he had ever owned 
in the past, twice as many sheep, and oxen, and camels, and asses. 
And God gave again to Job seven sons and three daughters; and 
in all the land there were no women found so lovely as the daughters 
of Job. After his trouble, Job lived a long time, in riches, and 
honor, and goodness, under God's care. 



Part Szconb 



Stones of 3°sfyua anb tl?e 3ubges 



Story (Dm. 



THE STORY OF A SCARLET CORD 

Joshua i : i, to ii : 24. 




iFTER the death of Moses, while the children of Israel 
were still encamped upon the east bank of the river 
Jordan, God spoke to Joshua, and said : 

"Now that Moses my servant is dead, you are 
to take his place and to rule this people. ' Do not 
delay, but lead them across the river Jordan, and conquer the land 
which I have given to them." 

Then God told Joshua how large would be the land which the 
Israelites were to have, if they should show themselves worthy of it. 
It was to reach from the great river Euphrates, far in the north, 
down to the border of Egypt on the south, and from the desert on 
the east to the Great Sea on the west. And God said to Joshua : 

" Be strong and of a good courage. . I will be with you as I was 
with Moses. Read constantly the book of the law which Moses gave 
you, and be careful to obey all that is written in it. Do this and you 
will have good success." 

Then Joshua gave orders to his officers. He said, "Go 
through the camp, and tell the people to prepare food for a 
journey; for in three days we shall pass over the river Jordan, and 
shall go into the land which the Lord has promised us." 

To say this was very bold ; for at that time of the year, in the 
spring, the Jordan was much larger than at other times. All its 
banks were overflowed, and it was running as a broad, deep, swift 
river, down to the Dead Sea, a few miles to the south. No one 
could possibly walk through it ; only a strong man could swim in its 
powerful current; and the Israelites had no boats in which they 
could cross it. 

(187) 



188 The Story of a Scarlet Cord 

On the other side of the river, a few miles distant, the Israelites 
could see the high walls of the city of Jericho, standing at the foot 
of the mountains. Before the rest of the land could be won, this 
city must be taken, for it stood beside the road leading up to the 
mountain country. 

Joshua chose two careful, brave, and wise men, and said to 
them, "Go across the river, and get into the city of Jericho; find 
out all you can about it, and come back in two days," 

The two men swam across the river, and walked over to Jericho, 
and went into the city. But they had been seen, and the king of 
Jericho sent men to take them prisoners. They came to a house 
which stood on the wall of the city, where was living a woman named 
Rahab ; and she hid the men. 

But these strange men had been seen going into her house, and 
the king sent his officers after them. The woman hid the men on 
the roof of the house, and heaped over them stalks of flax, which 
are like long reeds, so that the officers could not find them. After 
the officers had gone away, thinking that the tw r o spies had left the 
city, the woman Rahab came to the two men, and said to them : 

"All of us in this city know that your God is mighty and 
terrible, and that he has given you this land. We have heard how 
your God dried up the Red Sea before you, and led you through 
the desert, and gave you victory over your enemies. And now all 
the people in this city are in fear of you, for they know that your 
God will give you this city and all this land." 

"Now," said Rahab, "promise me in the name of the Lord, 
that you will spare my life, and the lives of my father and mother, 
and of my brothers and sisters, when you take this city." 

And the men said, "We will pledge our life for yours, that no 
harm shall come to you; for you have saved our lives." 

This woman's house stood on the wall of the city. From one 
of its windows Rahab let down outside a rope, upon which the men 
could slide down to the ground. It happened that this rope was 
of a bright scarlet color. 

The two spies said to Rahab, "When our men come to take 
this city, you shall have this scarlet rope hanging in the window. 
Bring your father, and mother, and family into the house, and keep 
them there while we are taking the city. We will tell all our men 
not to harm the people who are in the house where the scarlet cord 



What the Two Spies Said to Joshua 189 



hangs from the window ; and thus all your family will be safe when 
the city is taken." 

Then the two men, at night, slid down the rope and found their 
way to the river, and swam over it 
again, and told their story to Joshua. 
They said, " Truly the Lord has given 
to us all the land ; for all the people 
in it are in terror 
before us, and 
will not dare to 
oppose us." 

One fact was 
a great help to 
the Israelites in 
their plans for 
taking the land 
of Canaan. It 
was not held by 
one people, or 
ruled over by one 
king, who could 
unite all his peo- 
ple against the 
Israelites. There 
were many small 
nations living in 
the land, and 
each little tribe, 
and even each 
city, was ruled 
by its own king. 
So it would be 
easy for the 
Israelites to 

destroy them one by one, so long as they kept apart and did not 
band themselves together into one army. 

The Israelites were now a strong and united people, trained 
for war, and willing to obey one leader, so that all the twelve tribes 
were ready to fight as one man. 




THE TWO SPIES LET DOWN BY A ROPE. 



Story Ctco. 



HOW THE RIVER JORDAN BECAME DRY, 

AND THE WALLS OF JERICHO 

FELL DOWN. 

Joshua iii : i, to vi : 27. 




FTER the two spies had come back from Jericho to 
the camp of Israel, Joshua ccmmanded the people 
to take down their tents and remove from their 
camping place to the bank of the river Jordan. 
Then the priests took apart the Tabernacle, and 
covered the ark and all the furniture in the Holy Place; and ran 
the poles through the rings for carrying the altar, and made ready 
for leaving the camp. At the same time the people took down 
their tents, and rolled them up, and brought together their flocks 
and cattle, and stood ready to march. 

Then Joshua gave the word, and they marched down toward 
the river, which was rolling high and strong in front of them. Joshua 
said: 

"Let the priests carry the ark of the covenant in front, and 
let there be a space between it and the rest of the people of three 
thousand feet. Do not come nearer than that space to the ark." 

And all the people stood still, wondering, while the ark was 
brought on the shoulders of the priests far out in front of the ranks 
of men, until it came down to the very edge of the water. They 
could not see the ark, for it was covered, but they knew that it was 
under its coverings on the shoulders of the priests. 

Then said Joshua to the priests, " Now walk into the water of 
the river." 

Then a most wonderful thing took place. As soon as the feet 
of the priests touched the water by the shore, the river above 
stopped flowing, and far away, up the river, they could see the 
water rising and piling up like a great heap. And below the place 

(190) 



Crossing the River Jordan 191 

where they were standing the water ran on, until it left a great 
place dry, and the stones on the river's bed were uncovered. Then, 
at Joshua's command, the priests carried the ark down to the middle 
of the dry bed of the river, and stood there with it on their shoulders. 

And Joshua gave order to the people to march across the river. 
In front came the soldiers from Reuben, Gad, and the half -tribe of 
Manasseh, who had already received their homes on the east of the 
river, but were with the other tribes to help in the war (see Story 
Thirty-three in Part First). After them came all the other tribes, 
each by itself, until they had all passed over the river ; and all this 
time the priests stood on the river's dry bed holding the ark. 

Then Joshua called for twelve men, one man from each tribe ; 
and he said to them : 

"Go down into the river and bring up from it twelve stones, 
as large stones as you can carry, from the place where the priests 
are standing." 

They did so ; and with these stones Joshua made a stone-heap 
on the bank ; and he said . 

"Let this heap of stones stand here to keep in memory what 
has taken place to-day. When your children shall ask you, 'Why 
are these stones here?' you shall say to them, * Because here the 
Lord God made the river dry before the ark of the covenant, so 
that the people could cross over into the land that God had promised 
to their fathers.'" 

And Joshua told these twelve men to take also twelve other 
stones, and heap them up in the bed of the river where the priests 
stood with the ark, so that these stones also might stand to remind 
all who should see them of God's wonderful help to his people. 

When all this had been done, and the two heaps of stone had 
been piled up, one on the bank, the other in the bed of the river, 
Joshua said to the priests, " Come now up from the river, and bring 
the ark to the shore." 

They did so; and then the waters began to flow down from 
above, until soon the river Jordan was rolling by as it had rolled 
before. So now at last the children of Israel were safely in the land 
which God had promised to their fathers more than five hundred 
years before. 

They set up a new camp, with the Tabernacle in the middle, 
the altar before it, and the tents of the tribes around it in order. 



192 



River Jordan and Walls of Jericho 



The place of the camp was near the river, on the plain of Jordan, and 
was called Gilgal. And there the main camp of the Israelites was 
kept all the time that they were carrying on the war to win the land 
cf Canaan. 

When they came into the land, it was the time of the early 
harvest ; and in the fields they found grain and barley in abundance. 

They gathered it, and ground it, and 
made bread of it; and some of it they 
roasted in the ear; and on that day 
the manna which God had sent them 
from the sky through forty 
years ceased to fall, now that 
it was needed no more. (See 
Part First, Story Twenty- 
four.) 

There, in full view of the 
new camp, stood the strong 
walls of Jericho. Joshua 
went out to look at the 
city; and he saw a man 
all armed coming toward 
him. Joshua walked boldly 
up to the man, and said to 
him, "Are you on our 
side, or are you one of 
our enemies ? ' ' 

And he said, "No; 
but as captain of the Lord's 
host have I come." 

Then Joshua saw that he 

was the angel of the Lord; and 

and he bowed down before him, 

said, "What word has my Lord 

to his servant?" 

And the captain of the Lord's host said to Joshua, " Take off 

your shoes from your feet, for it is holy ground where you are 

standing." 

Joshua did so ; for the one who was speaking to him was not 
merely an angel, but the Lord himself appearing as a man. And 




THE PRIESTS BLOWING THEIR HORNS. 



Marching Around the City 193 

the Lord said to Joshua, " I have given to you Jericho, and its 
king, and its mighty men of war ; and I will destroy the city of 
Jericho before you." 

Then the Lord told Joshua the way in which the city should 
be taken ; and Joshua went back to the camp at Gilgal, and made 
ready to march as God commanded. During the next seven days 
all that was done was according to the word spoken by the Lord 
to Joshua. 

They drew out the army as if to fight against the city. In 
front came the soldiers from the tribes on the east of the river. 
Then came a company of priests with trumpets made of rams' 
horns, which they blew long and loud. Then came the ark of the 
covenant, borne on the shoulders of the priests. And, last of all, 
came the host of Israel, marching in order. No one shouted, nor 
was any noise heard, except the sound of the rams'-horn trumpets. 
They marched around the walls of Jericho once on that day, and 
then all marched back to the camp. 

The next morning they all formed in the same order, and again 
marched around the walls of the city; and so they did again and 
again, marching once each day for six days. 

On the seventh day, by God's command, they rose very early 
in the morning, and did not stop when they had marched around 
the walls once ; but kept on marching round and round, until they 
had gone about the walls seven times. As they went by they saw 
at one window on the wall a scarlet cord hanging down ; and they 
knew that this was the house of Rahab, who had saved the lives of 
the two spies. 

When the seventh march was ended, they all stood still. Even 
the trumpets ceased, and there was a great silence for a moment, 
until the voice of Joshua rang out, " Shout, for the Lord has given 
you the city!" 

Then a great shout went up from the host ; and they looked at 
the wall, and saw that it was trembling, and shaking, and falling! 
It fell down flat at every place but one. There was one part of the 
wall left standing, where the scarlet cord was hanging from the 
window. 

And Joshua said to the two spies, "Go and bring out Rahab 
and her family, and take them to a safe place." 

They went mto Rahab 's house on the wall and brought her 

>3 



i94 River Jordan and Walls of Jericho 

out, and with her her father and mother, and all their family. 
They cared for them, and kept them safely in the camp of the 
Israelites until all the war against the people of the land was ended. 

While some of the soldiers were taking care of Rahab, all the 
rest of the army was climbing up over the ruined wall. The people 
in the city were so filled with fear when they saw the walls falling 
down on every side, that they did not try to defend it, but sank 
down helpless and were slain or taken prisoners by the Israelites. 

Thus the city was taken, with all that was within it. But the 
Israelites were forbidden to use for themselves any of the treasures 
in the city. Joshua said to them " Nothing in this city belongs to 
you. It is the Lord's, and is to be destroyed as an offering to the 
Lord." 

So they brought together all the gold, and silver, and precious 
things, and all that was in t^ie houses. They took nothing for 
themselves, but kept the gold and silver and the things made of 
brass and iron for the Tabernacle. All the rest of what they found 
in the city they burned and -destroyed, leaving of the city of Jericho 
nothing but a waste and a desolation. And Joshua said : 

"Let the Lord's curse rest on any man who shall ever build 
again the city of Jericho. With the loss of his oldest born shall he 
lay its foundation, and with the loss of his youngest son shall he set 
up the gates of it." 

After this Rahab, the woman who had saved the spies, was 
taken among the people of Israel just as though she had been an 
Israelite born. And one of the nobles of the tribe of Judah, whose 
name was Salmon, took her for his wife. And from her line of 
descendants, of those who came from her, many years after this, 
was born David the king. She was saved and blessed, because 
she had faith in the God of Israel. 



Story Cfyree. 



THE STORY OF A WEDGE OF GOLD. 

Joshua vii : i, to viii : 35. 




,HILE the Israelites at God's word were destroying the 
city of Jericho there was one man who disobeyed God's 
command. A man named Achan, of the tribe of 
Judah, saw in one house a beautiful garment that 
had come from Babylon, and a wedge-shaped piece 
of gold and some silver. He looked at it, longed to have it for his 
own, took it secretly to his tent, and hid it. He thought that no 
one had seen him do this thing. But God saw it all; and Achan's 
robbery of God, to whom everything belonged that was in Jericho, 
brought great trouble to Israel. 

From Jericho there was a road up the ravines and valleys 
leading to the mountain country. On one of the hills above the 
plain stood a little city called Ai. Joshua did not think it needful 
for all the army to go and take Ai, because it was a small place. 
So he sent a small army of three thousand men. But the men of 
Ai came out against them, and killed a number of them, and drove 
them away, so that they failed to take the city. 

And when the rest of the people heard of this defeat they were 
filled with fear. Joshua was alarmed, not because he was afraid 
of the Canaanites, but because he knew that God was not with the 
men who went against Ai. And Joshua fell on his face before the 
Lord, and said: 

"O Lord God, why hast thou led us across Jordan only -to let 
us fall before our enemies? What shall I say, Lord, now that 
the men of Israel have been beaten and driven away? " 

And God said to Joshua: 

"Israel has sinned. They have disobeyed my words, and 
have broken their promise. They have taken the treasure that 
belongs to me, and have kept it. And that is the reason why I 
have left them to suffer from their enemies. My curse shall rest 

(195) 



196 The Story of a Wedge of Gold 

on the people until they bring back that which is stolen, and punish 
the man who robbed me." And God told Joshua how to find the 
man who had done this evil thing. 

The next morning, very early, Joshua called all the tribes of 
Israel to come before him. When the tribe of Judah came near 
God showed to Joshua that this was the tribe. Then as the divi- 
sions of Judah came by God pointed out one division ; and in that 
division one household, and in that household one family, and in 
that family one man. Achan was singled out as the man who had 
robbed God. 

And Joshua said to Achan, "My son, give honor to the Lord 
God, and confess your sin to him ; and tell me now what you have 
done. Do not try to hide it from me." 

And Achan said, " I have sinned against the Lord. I saw in 
Jericho a garment from Babylon, and a wedge of gold, and some 
pieces of silver, and I hid them in my tent." Then Joshua sent 
messengers, who ran to the tent of Achan, and found the hidden 
things, and brought them out before all the people. 

Then, because Achan's crime had harmed all the people, and 
because his children were with him in the crime, they took them 
all, Achan, and his sons and his daughters, and the treasure that 
had been stolen, and even his sheep and his oxen, and his tent, and 
all that was in it. And the people threw stones upon them until 
all were dead ; then they burned their bodies and all the things in 
the tent. And over the ashes they piled up a heap of stones, so 
that all who saw it would remember what came to Achan for his sin. 

Thus did God show to his people how careful they must be to 
obey his commands, if they would have God with them. After 
this Joshua sent another army, larger than before, against Ai. And 
they took the city, and destroyed it, as they had destroyed Jericho. 
But God allowed the people to take for themselves what they found 
in the city of Ai. 

Then they marched on over the mountains, until they came 
near to the city of Shechem, in the middle of the land of Canaan. 
The people of the land were so filled with fear that none of them 
resisted the march of the Israelites. Near Shechem are the two 
mountains, Ebal on the north, and Gerizim on the south. Between 
these is a great hollow place, like a vast bowl. There Joshua 
gathered all the people of Israel, with their wives and their children. 



Joshua Reading God's Law 



197 



In the midst of this place they built an altar of unhewn stones 
heaped up, for they had left the Tabernacle and the brazen altar 
standing in the camp at Gilgal, by Jordan. On this new altar they 
gave offerings to the Lord and worshipped. 

Then before all the people Joshua read the law which Moses 
had written. And all the people, with their wives, and even the 
little children, listened to the law of the Lord. Half of the tribes 
stood on the slope of Mount Ebal on the north, and these, as Joshua 




JERICHO AS IT NOW IS. 



read the words of warning which God had given to those who should 
disobey, all answered with one voice "Amen." And the other half 
of the tribes stood on the slope of Mount Gerizim on the south ; and 
as Joshua read God's words of blessing to those who should obey 
the law, these answered "Amen." 

When they had done all this, and thus given the land to the 
Lord and pledged themselves to serve God, they marched again 
down the mountains, past the smouldering ruins of Ai, past the 
heap of stones that covered Achan, and past the broken walls of 
Jericho, back to the camp at Gilgal beside the river. 



Story 5 our - 



HOW JOSHUA CONQUERED THE LAND 

OF CANAAN. 

Joshua ix : i, to xi : 23. 




HE news of all that Joshua and the men of Israel had 
done at Jericho and at Ai, how they had destroyed 
those cities and slain their people, went through all 
the land. Everywhere the tribes of Canaan prepared 
to fight these strangers who had so suddenly and so 
boldly entered their country. 

Near the middle of the mountain region, between Jerusalem 
and Shechem, were four cities of a race called either the Hivites, or 
the Gibeonites, from their chief city, Gibeon. These people felt 
that they could not resist the Israelites ; so they undertook to make 
peace with them. Their cities were less than a day's journey from 
the camp at Gilgal, and quite near to Ai ; but they came to Joshua 
at the camp, looking as if they had made a long journey. 

They were wearing old and ragged garments, and shoes w r orn 
out ; and they brought dry and mouldy bread, and old bags of food, 
and wine-skins torn and mended. They met Joshua and the elders 
of Israel in the camp, and said to them : 

"We live in a country far away; but we have heard of the 
great things that you have done ; the journey you have made, and 
the cities you have taken on the other side of the river Jordan ; and 
now we have come to offer you our friendship and to make peace 
with you." And Joshua said to them, "Who are you? And 
from what land do you come?" 

"We have come," they said, "from a country far away. See 
this bread. We took it hot from the oven, and now it is mouldy. 
These wine-skins were new when we filled them, and you see they 
are old. Look at our garments and our shoes, all worn out and 
patched." 

(198) 



The Promise Kept 



199 



Joshua and the elders did not ask the Lord what to do, but 
made an agreement with these men to have peace with them, not 
to destroy their cities, and to spare the lives of their people. And 
a very few days after making peace with them they found that the 
four cities where they lived were very near. 

At first the Israelite rulers were very angry, and were inclined 
to break their agreement, but afterward they said : 

11 We will keep our promise to these people, though they have 





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THE GIBEONITES COME TO JOSHUA. 

deceived us. We will let them live, but they shall be made our 
servants, and shall do the hard work for the camp and for the 
Tabernacle." 

Even this was better than to be killed, and to have their cities 
destroyed; and the Gibeonite people were glad to save their lives. 
So from that time the people of the four Gibeonite cities carried 
burdens, and drew water, and cut wood, and served the camp of 
Israel. 

The largest city near to the camp at Gilgal was Jerusalem, 
among the mountains, where its king, Melchizedek, in the days of 



200 How Joshua Conquered Canaan 

Abraham, five hundred years before, had been a priest of the Lord, 
and had blessed Abraham, as we read in Story Six in Part First. 
But now, in the days of Joshua, the people of that city worshipped 
idols and were very wicked. 

When the king of Jerusalem heard that the Gibeonites, who 
lived near him, had made peace with Israel, he sent to the kings of 
Hebron and Lachish and several other cities, and said to them : 

"Come, let us unite our armies into one great army and fight 
the Gibeonites and destroy them; for they have made peace with 
our enemies, the people of Israel." 

As soon as the people of Gibeon heard this they sent to Joshua, 
saying: 

" Come quickly and help us ; for we are your servants ; and the 
king of Jerusalem is coming with a great army to kill us all, and 
destroy our cities. The whole country is in arms against us ; come 
at once, before it is too late!" 

Joshua was a very prompt man, swift in all his acts. At once 
he called out his army, and marched all night up the mountains. 
He came suddenly upon the five kings and their army at a place 
called Beth-horon. There a great battle was fought, Joshua leading 
his men against the Canaanites. He did not give his enemies time 
to form in line, but fell upon them so suddenly that they were 
driven into confusion, and fled before the men of Israel. 

And the Lord helped his people by a storm which drove great 
hailstones down on the Canaanites; so that more were killed by 
the hailstones than by the sword. It is written in an old song that 
on that day Joshua said before all his men : 

" Sun, stand thou still over Gibeon. 
And thou, moon, in the valley of Ajalon, 
And the sun stood still, and the moon stayed, 
Until the people had taken vengeance upon their enemies.*' 

If ever in all the history of the world there was a battle when 
the sun might well stand still, and the day be made longer, to make 
the victory complete, it was that day more than any other. For 
on that day the land was won by the people of the Lord. If Israel 
had been defeated and destroyed, instead of Canaan, then the Bible 
would never have been written, the worship of the true God would 
have been blotted out, and the whole world would have worshipped 



Five Kings Slain 201 

idols. The battle that day was for the salvation of the world as 
well as of Israel. So this was the greatest battle in its results that 
the world has ever seen. There have been many battles where 
more men fought, and more soldiers were slain, than at the battle of 
Beth-horon. But no battle in all the world had such an effect in 
the years and the ages after, as this battle. 

After the victory Joshua followed his enemies as they fled, 
and killed many of them, until their armies were broken up and 
destroyed. The five kings who had led against Joshua were found 
hidden in a cave, were brought out and were slain, so that they 
might no more trouble the Israelites. By this one victory all the 
part of the land of Canaan on the south was won, though there were 
a few small fights afterward. 

Then Joshua turned to the north, and led his army by a swift 
march against the kings who had united there to fight the Israelites. 
As suddenly as before he had fallen on the five kings at Beth-horon, 
he fell upon these kings and their army, near the little lake in 
the far north of Canaan, called "the waters of Merom." There 
another great victory was won; and after this it was easy to con- 
quer the land. Everywhere the tribes of Canaan were made to 
submit to the Israelites, until all the mountain country was under 
Joshua's rule. 

In the conquest of Canaan, there were six great marches and 
six battles; three in the lands on the east of the Jordan, while 
Moses was still living, the victories over the Amorites, the Midian- 
ites, and the people of Bashan, on the northeast, and there on the 
west of the Jordan, the victories at Jericho, at Beth-horon, and 
Lake Merom, under Joshua. 

But even after these marchings and victories, it was a long 
time before all the land was taken by the Israelites. 



Story ^toe. 



THE OLD MAN WHO FOUGHT AGAINST 

THE GIANTS. 

Joshua xiv : i, to xix ; 51. 




HE great war for the conquest of Canaan was now 
ended, though in the land some cities were still held 
by the Canaanite people. Yet the Israelites were 
now the rulers over most of the country, and Joshua 
prepared to divide the land among the tribes of Israel. 

One day the rulers of the tribe of Judah came to Joshua's tent 
at Gilgal, and with them came an old man, Caleb, whom you remem- 
ber as one of the twelve spies sent by Moses from Kadesh-barnea 
to go through the land of Canaan. (See Part First, Story Thirty.) 
This had been many years before, and Caleb was now, like Joshua, 
an old man, past eighty years of age. He said to Joshua : 

11 You remember what the Lord said to Moses, the man of God, 
when we were in the desert at Kadesh-barnea, and you and I with 
the other spies brought back our report. I spoke to Moses the 
word that was in my heart, and I followed the Lord wholly, when 
the other spies spoke out of their own fear, and made the people 
afraid. On that day, you remember that Moses said to me, ' The 
land where your feet have trodden and over which you have walked 
shall be yours, because you trusted in the Lord.' 

"That was forty-five years ago," Caleb went on to say, "and 
God has kept me alive all those years. To-day, at eighty-five years 
of age, I am as strong as I was in that day. And now I ask that 
the promise made by Moses be kept, and that I have my choice of 
the places in the land." 

"Well," said Joshua, "you can take your choice in the land. 
What part of it will you choose?" 

And Caleb answered: 

"The place that I will choose is the very mountain on which 



The Brave Old Man 



203 



we saw the city with the high walls, where the giants were living 
then, and where other giants, their sons, are living now, the city of 
Hebron. I know that the walls are high, and the giants live there. 
But the Lord will help me to take the cities, and to drive out the 
people who live in them. Let me have the city of Hebron." 

This was very bold in so old a man as Caleb, to choose the city 
which was not yet taken from the enemies, and one of the hardest 
cities to take, when he might have chosen some rich place already 

showed the same spirit of 
war, and faith in God, 
that he had shown in his - ^ prime at forty years 

of age. Then Joshua said 1|^_ to Caleb, "You shall 

have the city of Hebron, ^>'( ^^ with all its giants, if 

you will gather together j«B^H |& your men, and 

take it." And the old f Bl soldier brought 



won. But Caleb at eighty-five 
courage, and willingness to j 



1:M 




THE MOSQUE OF OMAR, OR THE DOME OF THE ROCK. 



together his men, and led them against the strong city of Hebron, 
where was the tomb of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. (See Stories 
Ten, Eleven and Nineteen.) By the help of the Lord, Caleb was 
able to drive out the giants, tall and mighty as they were. They 
fled from Caleb's men and went down to the shore on the west of 
the land, and lived among the people of that region, who were 
called the Philistines; while Caleb, and his children, and his de- 
scendants long aiter him, held the city of Hebron in the south of 
the land. 



204 The Man Who Fought Against Giants 

After this, by the command of the Lord, Joshua divided the 
land among the tribes. Two tribes and half of another tribe had 
already received their land on the east of Jordan; so there were 
nine tribes and a half tribe to receive their shares. Judah, one of 
the largest, had the mountain country west of the Dead Sea, from 
Hebron to Jerusalem ; Simeon was on the south toward the desert ; 
Benjamin was north of Judah on the east, toward the Jordan, and 
Dan north of Judah on the west, toward the Great Sea. 

In the middle of the country, around the city of Shechem, and 
the two mountains, Ebal and Gerizim, where Joshua had read the 
law to the people (see Story Three in this Part), was the land of 
the tribe of Ephraim. This was one of the best parts of all the 
country, for the soil was rich and there were many springs and 
streams of water. And here, near Mount Ebal, they buried the 
body of their tribe-father Joseph, which they had kept in its coffin 
of stone, unburied, ever since they left Egypt, more than forty years 
before. As Joshua himself belonged to the tribe of Ephraim, his 
home was also in this land. 

North of Ephraim, and reaching from the river Jordan to the 
Great Sea, ivas the land of the other half of the tribe of Manasseh. 
Both tr bes of Ephraim and Manasseh had sprung from Joseph. 
So Joseph's descendants had two tribes, as had been promised by 
Jacob when he was about to die. (See Story Nineteen in Part First.) 

The northern part of the land was divided among four tribes. 
Issacher was in the south, Asher on the west beside the Great Sea, 
Zebulun was in the middle among the mountains, and Naphtali 
was in the north, and by the lake afterward called the Sea of Galilee. 
At that time this lake was called the Sea of Kinnoreth, because 
the word ''kinnor" means "a harp;" and as they thought that 
this lake was shaped somewhat like a harp, they named it "the 
Harp-shaped Sea." 

But although all the land had been divided, it had not all been 
completely conquered. Nearly all the Canaanite people were there, 
still living upon the land, though in the mountain region they were 
under the rule of the Israelites. But on the plain beside the Great 
Sea, on the west of the land were the Philistines, a very strong 
people whom the Israelites had not yet met in war, though the time 
was coming when they would meet them, and suffer from them. 

And even among the mountains were many cities where the 



The Tribes in Their Land 205 

Canaanite people still lived, and in some of these cities they were 
strong. Years afterward, when Joshua the great warrior was no 
longer living, many of these people rose up to trouble the Israelites. 
The time came when the tribes of Israel wished often that their 
fathers had driven out or entirely destroyed the Canaanites, before; 
they ceased the war and divided the land. 

But when Joshua divided the land, and sent the tribes to their 
new homes, peace seemed to reign over all the country. Up to this 
time we have spoken of all this land as the land of Canaan, but now 
and henceforth it was to be called "The Land, of Israel," or "The 
Land of the Twelve Tribes," for it was now their home. 



Story Six. 



THE AVENGER OF BLOOD, AND THE 
CITIES OF REFUGE. 

Joshua xx : i, to xxi : 45. 




HERE was among the Israelites one custom which 
seems so strange, and so different from our ways, that 
it will be interesting to hear about it. -It was their 
rule with regard to any man who by accident killed 
another man. With us, whenever a man has been 
killed, the man who killed him, if he can be found, is taken by an 
officer before the judge, and he is tried. If he killed the man by 
accident, not wishing to do harm, he is set free. If he meant to 
kill him he is punished ; he may be sentenced to die for the other 
man's death ; and when he is put to death it is by the officer of 
the law. 

But in the lands of the east, where the Israelites lived, it was 
very different. There, when a man was killed, his nearest relative 



206 Avenger of Blood, and Cities of Refuge 

always took it upon himself to kill the man who had killed him ; and 
he undertook to kill this man without trial, without a judge, and by 
his own hand, whether the man deserved to die, or did not deserve 
it. Two men might be working in the forest together, and one 
man's axe might fly from his hand and kill the other ; or one man 
hunting might kill another hunter by mistake. No matter whether 
the man was guilty or innocent, the nearest relative of the one who 
had lost his life must find the man who had killed him, and kill him 
in return, wherever he was. If he could not find him, sometimes 
he would kill any member of his family whom he could find. This 
man was called "the avenger of blood," because he took vengeance 
for the blood of his relative, whether the one whom he slew deserved 
to die or not. When Moses gave laws to the children of Israel he 
found this custom of having an "avenger of blood" rooted so 
deeply in the habits of the people, that it could not be broken up. 
In fact, it still remains, even to this day, among the village people 
in the land where the Israelites lived. 

But Moses gave a law which was to take the place of the 
old custom, and to teach the people greater justice in their 
dealings with each other. And when they came into the land 
of Canaan, Joshua carried out the plan which Moses had com- 
manded. 

Joshua chose in the land six cities, three on one side of the river 
Jordan, and three on the other side. All of these were well-known 
places and easy to find. Most of them were on mountains, and 
could be seen far away. They were so- chosen that from almost 
any part of the land a man could reach one of these cities in a day, 
or at the most in two days. These cities were called "Cities of 
Refuge," because in them a man who had killed another by mistake 
could find refuge from the avenger of blood. 

i When a man killed another by accident, wherever he was, he 
ran as quickly as possible to the nearest of these cities of refuge. 
The avenger of blood followed him, and might perhaps overtake 
him and kill him before he reached the city. But almost always 
the man, having some start before his enemy, would get to the city 
of refuge first. 

There the elders of the city looked into the case. They learned 
all the facts ; and if the man was really guilty, and deserved to die, 
they gave him up to be killed by the avenger. But if he was inno- 



A Place of Safety 



207 



cent, and did not mean to kill the man who was dead, they forbade 
the avenger to touch him, and kept him in safety. 

A line was drawn around the city, at a distance from the wall, 
within which line the avenger could not come to do the man harm ; 
and within this line were fields, where the man could work and 
raise crops, so that he could have food. 

And there at the city of refuge the innocent man who had 
killed another without meaning to kill, lived until the high-priest 
died. After the 
high-priest died, 
and another high- 
priest took his 
place, the man 
could go back to 
his own home and 
live in peace. 

These were 
the cities of refuge 
in the land of 
Israel: On the 
north, Kedesh in 
the tribe of Naph- 
tali; in the center, 
Shechem, at the 
foot of Mount Ger- 
izim, in the tribe 
of Ephraim ; and on 
the south, Hebron, 

Caleb's city, in the tribe of Judah. These were among the moun- 
tains, on the west of the river Jordan. On the east of the river 
Jordan, the cities were Golan of Bashan in Manasseh, Ramoth 
of Gilead in the tribe of Gad, and Bezer in the highlands of the 
tribe of Reuben. 

This law taught the Israelites to be patient, and to control 
themselves, to protect the innocent, and to seek for justice, and not 
yield to sudden anger. 

Among the tribes there was one which had no land given to it 
in one place. This was the tribe of Levi, to which Moses and Aaron 
belonged. The men of this tribe were priests, who offered the 




THE ARK WITH THE GOLDEN CHERU 



208 Avenger of Blood, and Cities of Refuge 

sacrifices, and Levites, who cared for the Tabernacle and its wor- 
ship. Moses and Joshua did not think it well to have all the 
Levites living in one part of the country, so he gave them cities, 
and in some places the fields around the cities, in many parts of 
the land. From these places they went up to the Tabernacle to 
serve, each for a certain part of the year; and the rest of the year 
stayed in their homes and cared for their fields. 

When the war was over, and the land was divided, Joshua fixed 
the Tabernacle at a place called Shiloh, not far from the center of 
the land, so that from all the tribes the people could come up at 
least once a year for worship. They were told to come from their 
homes three times in each year, and to worship the Lord at Shiloh. 
These three times were for the feast of the Passover in the 
spring, when the lamb was killed, and roasted, and eaten with 
unleavened bread, of which we read in Story Twenty -eight of Part 
One ; the feast of the Tabernacles in the fall, when for a week they 
slept out of doors in huts made of twigs and boughs, to keep in mind 
their life in the wilderness ; and the feast of Pentecost, fifty days 
after the Passover, when they laid on the altar the first ripe fruits 
from the fields. All these three great feasts were kept at the place 
of the altar and the Tabernacle. 

And at Shiloh, before the Tabernacle, they placed the altar, 
on which the offerings were laid twice eA r ery day. (See Part First, 
Stories Twenty-seven and Twenty-eight.) 

God had kept his promise, and had brought the Israelites 
into a land which was their own, and had given them rest from all 
their enemies. 



Story Seven. 



THE STORY OF AN ALTAR BESIDE THE 

RIVER. 

Joshua xxii : i, to xxiv : 33. 




jHEN the war for the conquest of Canaan was ended, 
and the tribes were about to leave for their places in 
the land, Joshua broke up the camp at Gilgal, which 
had been the meeting-place of the Israelites through 
all the war. 

You remember that two of the tribes and half of another tribe 
had received their land on the east of Jordan (see Story Thirty- 
three in Part First), but their soldiers crossed the Jordan with the 
men of the other tribes. Joshua now called these soldiers, and said 
to them : 

"You have done all that Moses the servant of the Lord com- 
manded you; you have stood faithfully by your brothers of the 
other tribes ; and now the time has come for you to go back to your 
wives and your children in your own tribe-lands on the other side 
of Jordan. Go to your homes, where your wives and children are 
waiting for you. Only remember always to keep the command- 
ments of the Lord, and be true to the Lord, and serve him with all 
your heart and all your soul." 

Then Joshua gave them the blessing of the Lord, and sent them 
away. They left Shiloh, where the Tabernacle was standing, and 
came to the river Jordan. There on a great rock where it could be 
seen from far, they built a high altar of stone. 

Soon it was told among the tribes that the men of the two 
tribes and a half -tribe had built for themselves an altar. God had 
commanded the people to have but one altar for all the tribes, and 
one high-priest, and one offering for all the tribes upon the altar. 
This was for the purpose of keeping all the people together, as one 
family, with one worship. 

14 (209) 



210 The Story of an Altar Beside the River 

The people of Israel were greatly displeased when they found 
that these tribes had built an altar, while there was already one altar 
for all the tribes at Shiloh. They were almost ready to go to war 
against the tribes on the east of the Jordan on account of this altar. 

But before going to war they sent one of the priests, Phinehas, 
the son of Eleazar, and with him ten of the princes of Israel, one 
from each tribe, to ask the men of the tribes on the east for what 
purpose they had built this altar. These men came to the men of 
Reuben and Gad, and the half -tribe of Manasseh, and said to them : 

"What is this that you have done in building for yourselves 
an altar? Do you mean to turn away from the Lord and set up 
your own gods? Have you forgotten how God was made angry 
when Israel worshipped other gods? Do not show yourselves 
rebels against God by building an altar while God's altar is stand- 
ing at Shiloh." 

Then the men of the two tribes and a half answered : 

" The Lord, the only God, he knows that we have not built this 
altar for the offering of sacrifices. Let the Lord himself be our 
judge, that we have done no wrong. We have built this altar so 
that our children may see it, standing as it stands on your side of 
the river and not on our side : and then we can say to them, ' Let 
that altar remind you that we are all one people, we and the tribes 
on the other side of Jordan. ' This altar stands as a witness between 
us that we are all one people and worship the one Lord God of 
Israel." 

Then the princes of the nine tribes and a half were satisfied. 
They were pleased when they knew that it was an altar for witness 
and not for offerings. They named the altar Ed, a word which 
means witness. "For," they said, "it is a witness between us 
that the Lord is our God, the God of us all." 

Joshua was now a very old man, more than a hundred years 
old. He knew that he must soon die, and he wished to give to the 
people his last words. So he called the elders and rulers and judges 
of the tribes to meet him at Shechem, in the middle of the land and 
near his own home. 

When they were all together before him, Joshua reminded 
them of all that God had done for their fathers and for them- 
selves. He told them the story of Abraham, how he left his home 
at God's call; the story of Jacob and his family going down to 



The Last Days of Joshua 



2H 



Egypt; and how after many years the Lord had brought them 
out of that land; how the Lord had led them through the 
wilderness and had given them the land where they were now living 
at peace. Joshua then said : 

"You are living in cities that you did not build, and you are 
eating of vines 
and olive-trees 
that you did not 
plant. It is the 
Lord who has 
given you all 
these things. 
Now, therefore, 
fear the Lord, and 
serve him with 
all your hearts. 
And if any of you 
have any other 
gods, such as 
Abraham's father 
worshipped be- 
yond the River, 
and as your 
fathers some- 
times worshipped 
i n Egypt, put 
them away, and 
serve the Lord 
only. And if you 
are not willing 
to serve the Lord, 
then choose this 
day whatever god you will serve ; but as for me and my house, we 
will serve the Lord." 

Then the people answered Joshua: 

"We will not turn away from the Lord to serve other gods; 
for the Lord brought us out of Egypt where we were slaves ; and 
the Lord drove out our enemies before us; and the Lord gave us 
this land. We will serve the Lord, for he is the God of Israel." 




THE ALTAR WHICH STOOD AS A WITNESS. 



212 Ehud's Present to King Eglon 

''But," said Joshua, "you must remember that the Lord is 
very strict in his commands. He will be angry with you if you turn 
away from him after promising to serve him ; and will punish you 
if you worship images, as the people do around you." 

And the people said, "We pledge ourselves to serve the Lord, 
and the Lord only." 

Then Joshua wrote down the people's promise in the book of 
the law, so that others might read it and remember it. And he set 
up a great stone under an oak-tree in Shechem, and he said : 

" Let this stone stand as a witness between you and the Lord, 
that you have pledged yourselves to be faithful to him." 

Then Joshua sent the people away to their tribe-lands, telling 
them not to forget the promise that they had made. After this 
Joshua died, at the age of a hundred and ten years. And as long 
as the people lived who remembered Joshua, the people of Israel 
continued serving the Lord. 



Story (gtgtjt. 



THE PRESENT THAT EHUD BROUGHT 
TO KING EGLON. 

Judges i : i, to iii : 31. 




,OU would suppose that, after all that God had done 

for the Israelites, and after their own promises to 

serve him faithfully, they would never turn to the 

idols which could not save their own people, the 

Canaanites. Yet, when Joshua was no longer living, 

and the men who knew Joshua • had also died , the people began 

to forget their own God and to worship images of wood and stone. 

Perhaps it was not so strange after all. In all the world, so far 

as we know, at that time the Israelites were the only people who did 



Israel Forgetting the Lord 213 

not worship idols. All the nations around them, the Egyptians, 
from whose land they had come, the Edomites on the south, the 
Moabites on the east, the Philistines on the west beside the Great 
Sea, — all these bowed down to images, and many of them offered 
their own children upon the idol-altars. 

Then, too, you remember that the Canaanites had not been 
driven out of the land. They were there still, in their own cities 
and villages everywhere, and their idols were standing under the 
trees on many high places. So the Israelites saw idols all around 
them, and people bowing down before them; while they them- 
selves had no God that could be seen. The Tabernacle was far 
away from some parts of the land; and the people were so busy 
with their fields and their houses that few of them went up to 
worship. 

And so it came to pass that the people began to neglect their 
own worship of the Lord, and then to begin the worship of the idols 
around them. And from idol- worship they sank lower still into 
wicked deeds. For all this the Lord left them to suffer. Their 
enemies came upon them from the lands around, and became their 
masters; for when God left them they were helpless. They were 
made poor, for these rulers who had conquered them robbed them 
of all their grain, and grapes, and olive-oil. 

After a time of suffering the Israelites would think of what 
God had done for them in other times. Then they would turn 
away from the idols, and would call upon God. And God would 
hear them, and raise up some great man to lead them to freedom, 
and to break the power of those who were ruling over them. This 
great man they called " a judge ;" and under him they would serve 
God, and be happy and successful once more. 

As long as the judge lived and ruled, the people worshipped 
God. But when the judge died they forgot God again, and wor- 
shipped idols and fell under the power of their enemies as before, 
until God sent another judge to deliver them. And this happened 
over and over again in the three hundred years after Joshua died. 
Seven nations in turn ruled over the Israelites, and after each 
"oppression," as this rule was called, a "deliverer" arose to set the 
people free. 

The idols which the Israelites worshipped most of all were 
those named Baal and Asherah. Baal was an image looking some- 



214 Ehud's Present to King Eglon 

what like a man ; and Asherah was the name given to the one that 
looked like a woman. These images were set up in groves and on 
hills by the Canaanite people, and to these the Israelites bowed 
down, falling on their faces before them. 

The first nation to come from another land against the Israel- 
ites was the people of Mesopotamia, between the great rivers 
Euphrates and Tigris on the north. Their king led his army into 
the land and made the Israelites serve him eight years. Then they 
cried to the Lord, and the Lord sent to them Othniel, who was a 
younger brother of Caleb, of whom we read in Story Five in this 
Part. He set the people free from the Mesopotamians, and ruled 
them as long as he lived, and kept them faithful to the Lord. Oth- 
niel was the first of the judges of Israel. 

But after Othniel died the people again began to w r orship 
images, and again fell under the power of their enemies. This time 
it was the Moabites who came against them from the land east of 
the Dead Sea. Their king at this time was named Eglon, and he 
was very hard in his rule over the Israelites. Again they cried to 
the Lord, and God called a man named Ehud, who belonged to the 
tribe of Benjamin, to set the people free. 

Ehud came one day to visit King Eglon, who was ruling over 
the land. He said: 

" I have a present from my people to the king. Let me go into 
his palace and see him." 

They let Ehud into the palace, and he gave to the king a 
present; then he went out, but soon came back, and said: 

" I have a message to the king that no one else can hear. Let 
me see the king alone." 

As he had just brought a present they supposed that he was a 
friend to the king. Then, too, he had no sword on the side where 
men carried their swords. But Ehud was left-handed, and he 
carried on the other side a short, sharp sword which he had made, 
like a dagger. This sword was out of sight under his garment. 

He went into the room where King Ehud was sitting alone, and 
said, " I have a message from the Lord to you, and this is the 
message." 

And then he drew out his sword and drove it up to the handle 
into the king's body so suddenly that the king died without giving 
a sound. Ehud left the sword in the dead body of the king, and 



Ehud Blows a Trumpet 215 

went out quietly by the rear door. The servants of the king 
thought he was asleep in his room, and for a while did not go in to 
see why he was so still; but when they found him dead Ehud was 
far away. 

Ehud blew a trumpet and called his people together, and led' 
them against the Moabites. They were so helpless without their 
king that Ehud and his men easily drove them out of Israel and set 
the people free. Ehud became the second judge over the land. 
And after that it was many years before enemies again held rule 
over Israel. 

The next enemies to Israel were the Philistines, who lived on 
the shore of the Great Sea on the west. They came up from the 
plain against the Israelites; but Shamgar, the third judge, met 
them with a company of farmers, who drove the Philistines back 
with their ox-goads, and so kept them from ruling over the land. 



Storii Hine, 



HOW A WOMAN WON A GREAT 
VICTORY. 

Judges iv : 1, to v : 31. 




GAIN many of the people of Israel were drawn away 
from the worship of the Lord, and began to live like 
the people around them; praying to idols and doing 
wickedly. And again the Lord left them to suffer for 
their sins. A Canaanite king in the north, whose 
name was Jabin, sent his army down to conquer them under the 
command of his general, named Sisera. In Sisera's army were 
many chariots of iron, drawn by horses; while soldiers in the 
chariots shot arrows and threw spears at the Israelites. The men 



216 How a Woman Won a Great Victory 

of Israel were not used to horses, and greatly feared these war- 
chariots. 

All the northern tribes in the land of Israel fell under the power 
of King Jabin and his general, Sisera ; and their rule was very harsh 
and severe. This was the fourth of these "oppressions," and it 
bore most heavily upon the people in the north. But it led those 
who suffered from it to turn from their idols, and to call upon the 
Lord God of Israel. 

At that time a woman was ruling as judge over a large part of 
the land ; the only woman among the fifteen judges who, one after 
another, ruled the Israelites. Her name was Deborah. She sat 
under a palm-tree north of Jerusalem, between the cities of Ramah 
and Bethel, and gave advice to all the people who sought her. So 
wise and good was Deborah that men came from all parts of the land 
with their difficulties and the questions that arose between them. 
She ruled over the land, not by the force of any army, or by any 
appointment, but because all men saw that God's Spirit was upon 
her. 

Deborah heard of the troubles of the tribes in the north under 
the hard rule of the Canaanites. She knew that a brave man was 
living in the land of Naphtali, a man named Barak, and to him she 
sent this message: 

"Barak, call out the tribes of Israel who live near you; raise 
an army, and lead the men who gather about you to Mount Tabor. 
The Lord has told me that he will give Sisera and the host of the 
Canaanites into your hands." 

But Barak felt afraid to undertake alone this great work of 
setting his people free. He sent back to Deborah this answer : 

" If you will go with me, I will go; but if you will not go with 
me, I will not go." 

" I will go with you," said Deborah ; "but because you did not 
trust God, and did not go when God called you, the honor of this 
war will not be yours, for God will deliver Sisera into the hands of 
a woman." 

Deborah left her seat under the palm-tree and went up to 
Kedesh, where Barak lived. Together Deborah and Barak sent out 
a call for the men of the north, and ten thousand men met together 
with such arms as they could find. This little army, with a woman 
for its chief, encamped on Mount Tabor, which is one of three moun- 



Victory Over the Canaanites 



217 



tains standing in a row on the east of a great plain called "the plain 
of Esdraelon," " the plain of Jezreel," and " the plain of Megiddo," — 
for it bears all these three names. On this plain, both in Bible 
times and also in the times since the Bible, many great battles have 
been fought. 
Over this plain 
w i n d s the 
brook Kishon, 
which at some 
seasons, after 
heavy rain, 
bee omes a 
foaming, rush- 
ing river. 

From their 
camp on the 
top of Mount 
Tabor the little 
army of Israel 
could look 
down on the 
great host of 
the Canaanites 
with t h e i r 
many tents, 
their horses 
and chariots, 
and their gen- 
eral, Sis era. 
But Deborah 
was not afraid. 
She said to 
Barak : 

" March 
down the mountain with all your men, and fight the Canaanites 
The Lord will go before you, and he will give Sisera and his host 
into your hand." 

Then Barak blew a trumpet and called out his men. They 
ran down the side of Mount Tabor and rushed upon their enemies- 




BARAK SEES THE MIGHTY SISERA. 



2i 8 How a Woman Won a Great Victory 

The Canaanites . were taken so suddenly that they had no time to 
draw out their chariots. They were frightened and ran away, 
trampling each other under foot, chariots and horses and men in a 
wild flight. 

And the Lord helped the Israelites ; for at that time the brook, 
Kishon was swollen into a river, and the Canaanites crowded after 1 
each other into it. While many were killed in the battle, many 
were also drowned in the river. 

Sisera, the general of the Canaanites, saw that the battle had 
gone against him and that all was lost. He leaped from his chariot 
and fled away on foot. On the edge of the plain he found a tent 
standing alone, and he ran to it for shelter and hiding. 

It was the tent of a man named Heber, and Heber's wife, Jael, 
was in front of it. She knew Sisera, and said to him, "Come in, 
my lord; come into the tent; do not be afraid." 

Sisera entered the tent, and Jael covered him with a rug, so 
that no enemy might find him. Sisera said to her, "I am very 
thirsty; can you give me a little water to drink?" 

Instead of water she brought out a bottle of milk and gave him 
some : and then Sisera lay down to sleep, for he was very tired from 
the battle and from running. While he was in a deep sleep, Jael 
crept into the tent quietly with a tent-pin and a hammer in her 
hand. She placed the point of the pin upon the side of his head, 
near his ear, and with the hammer gave blow after blow, driving it 
into his brain and through his head until it went into the ground 
underneath. After a moment's struggle Sisera was dead, and she 
left his body upon the ground. 

In a little time Jael saw Barak, the chief of the Israelite army, 
coming toward the tent. She went out to meet him, and said, " Come 
with me, and I will show you the man whom you areseeking." 

She lifted the curtain of the tent, and led Barak within ; and 
there he saw lying dead upon the ground the mighty Sisera, who 
only the day before had led the army of the Canaanites. 

That was a terrible deed which Jael did. We should call it 
treachery and murder ; but such was the bitter hate between 
Israelite and Canaanite at that time that all the people gave great 
honor to Jael on account of it, for by that act she had set the people 
free from the king who had been oppressing Israel. After this the 
land had rest for many years. 



The Song of Deborah 219 



Deborah, the judge, wrote a great song about this victory, 
Here are some verses from it : 

" Because the elders took the lead in Israel. 
Because the people offered themselves willingly, 
Bless ye the Lord. 

Hear, O ye kings; give ear, O ye princes; 
I, even I will sing unto the Lord; 

I will sing praise to the Lord, the God of Israel. 
* * * * * * * * * * 

The kings came and fought, 
Then fought the kings of Canaan, 
In Taanach by the waters of Megiddo. 

They took no gain of money. 

They fought from heaven, 

The stars in their courses fought against Sisera. 

The river Kishon swept them away, 

That ancient river, the river Kishon. 

O my soul, march on with strength; 
********** 
Blessed among women shall Jael be, 
The wife of Heber the Kenite, 
Blessed shall she be among women in the tent. 
He asked water, and she gave him milk, 

She brought him butter in a lordly dish. 
*********$ 

At her feet he bowed, he fell, he lay ; 
At her feet he bowed, he fell. 

Where he bowed, there he fell down dead. 

Through the window a woman looked forth and cried. 
The mother of Sisera cried through the lattice, 
Why is his chariot so long in coming? 

Why tarry the wheels of his chariot? 
********** 

So let all thine enemies perish, O Lord; 
But let them that love him be as the sun, 
"When he goeth forth in his might. 



Story Cert. 



GIDEON AND HIS BRAVE THREE 
HUNDRED. 

Judges vi : i, to viii : 28. 




GAIN the people of Israel did evil in the sight 
of the Lord in worshipping Baal; and the Lord 
left them again to suffer for their sins. This time 
it was the Midianites, living near the desert on 
the east of Israel, who came against the tribes 
in the middle of the country. The two tribes that suffered 
the hardest fate were Ephraim, and the part of Manasseh on 
the west of Jordan. For seven years the Midianites swept 
over their land even- 7 year, just at the time of harvest, and 
carried away all the crops of grain, until the Israelites had no 
food for themselves and none for their sheep and cattle. The 
Midianites brought also their own flocks, and camels without 
number, Avhich ate all the grass of the field. These Midianites 
were the wild Arabs, living on the border of the desert, and 
from their land they made sudden and swift attacks upon the 
people of Israel. 

The people of Israel were driven away from their villages and 
their farms; and were compelled to hide in the caves of the moun- 
tains. And if any Israelite could raise any grain, he buried it in 
pits covered with earth, or in empty wine-presses, where the 
Midianites could not find it. 

One day a man named Gideon was threshing out wheat in a 
hidden place, when suddenly he saw an angel sitting under an oak- 
tree. The angel said to him, "You are a brave man, Gideon; and 
the Lord is with you. Go out boldly, and save your people from 
the power of the Midianites." 

Gideon answered the angel, "O Lord, how can I save Israel? 
Mine is a poor family in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's 
house." 

(220) 



The Angel and Gideon 



221 



And the Lord said to him, "Surely I will be with you, and I 
will help you drive out the Midianites." 

Gideon felt that it was the Lord who was talking with him, in 
the form of an angel. He brought an offering, and laid it on a rock 
before the angel. Then the angel touched the offering with his staff. 
At once a fire leaped up and burned the offering ; and then the angel 
vanished from his sight. Gideon was afraid when he saw this ; but 
the Lord said to him, "Peace be unto you, Gideon; do not fear, 
for I am with you." 

On the spot where the Lord appeared to Gideon, under an oak- 




THE ANGEL TOUCHED GIDEON S OFFERING. 



tree near the village of Ophrah, in the tribe-land of Manasseh, Gideon 
built an altar, and called it by a name which means "The Lord is 
peace." This altar was standing long afterward in that place. 

Then the Lord told Gideon that before setting his people free 
from the Midianites, he must first set them free from the service of 
Baal and Asherah, the two idols most worshipped among them. 
Near the house of Gideon's own father stood an altar to Baal, and 
the image of Asherah. 

On that night Gideon went out with ten men, and threw down 



222 Gideon and His Brave Three Hundred 

the image of Baal, and cut in pieces the wooden image of Asherah, 
and destroyed the altar before these idols. And in place he built an 
altar to the God of Israel, and on it laid the broken pieces of the 
idols for wood, and with them offered a young ox as a burnt-offering. 

On the next morning, when the people of the village went out 
to worship their idols, they found them cut in pieces, the altar 
taken away ; in its place stood an altar of the Lord, and on it the 
pieces of the Asherah were burning as wood under a sacrifice to the 
Lord. The people looked at the broken and burning idols, and 
they said, "Who has done this?" 

Some one said, "Gideon, the son of Joash, did this last night." 
Then they came to Joash, Gideon's father, and said, "We are going 
to kill your son because he has destroyed the image of Baal, who is 
our god." 

And Joash, Gideon's father, said, " If Baal is a god, he can take 
care of himself ; and he will punish the man who has destroyed his 
image. Why should you help Baal? Let Baal help himself." 

And when they saw that Baal could not harm the man who 
had broken down his altar and his image, the people turned from 
Baal back to their own Lord God. 

Gideon sent men through all his own tribe of Manasseh and the 
other tribes in that part of the land, to say, " Come and help us drive 
out the Midianites." The men came, and gathered around Gideon. 
Very few of them had swords and spears, for the Israelites were 
not a fighting people, and were not trained for war. They met 
beside a great spring on Mount Gilboa, called "the fountain of 
Harod." Mount Gilboa is one of the three mountains on the east 
of the plain of Esdraelon, or the plain of Jezreel, of which we read 
in the last story. On the plain, stretching up the side of another 
of these mountains, called "the Hill of Moreh," was the camp of a 
vast Midianite army. For as soon as the Midianites heard that 
Gideon had undertaken to set his people free, they came against him 
with a mighty host. Just as Deborah and her little army had 
looked down from Mount Tabor on the great army of the Canaanites 
(see Story Nine in this Part)", so now, on Mount Gilboa, Gideon 
looked down on the host of the Midianites in their camp on the same 
plain. 

Gideon was a man of faith. He wished to be sure that God 
was leading him; and he prayed to God, and said, "O Lord God, 



Gideon's Fleece 



223 



give me some sign that thou wilt save Israel through me. Here is 
a fleece of wool on this threshing-floor. If to-morrow morning the 
fleece is wet with dew, while the grass around it is dry, then I shall 
know that thou art with me, and that thou wilt give me victory over 

the Midianites.' 

Very early the next 
morning Gideon came 
to look at the fleece. 
He found it wringing 
wet with dew, while all 
around the grass was 
dry. But Gideon was 
not yet satisfied. He 




THE ANGEL SPEAKING TO GIDEON ON THE THRESHING-FLOOR. 



said to the Lord, "0 Lord, be not angry with me ; but give me just 
one more sign. To-morrow morning, let the fleece be dry, and let the 
dew fall all around it ; and then I will doubt no more. " 

The next morning Gideon found the grass and the bushes and 
the trees wet with dew, while the fleece of wool was dry. And 



224 Gideon and His Brave Three Hundred 

Gideon was now sure that God had called him, and that God would 
give him victory over the enemies of Israel. 

The Lord said to Gideon, "Your army is too large. If Israel 
should win the victory, they would say, 'We won it by our own 
might.' Send home all those who are afraid to fight." For many 
of the people were frightened as they looked at the host of their 
enemies; and the Lord knew that these men in the battle would 
only hinder the rest. 

So Gideon sent word through the camp, "Whoever is afraid 
of the enemy may go home." And twenty-two thousand people 
went away, leaving only ten thousand in Gideon's army. But the 
army was stronger though it was smaller, for the cowards had gone 
and only the brave men were left. 

But the Lord said to Gideon, "The people are yet too many. 
You need only a few of the bravest and best men to fight in this 
battle. Bring the men down the mountain, beside the water, and I 
will show you there how to find the men whom you need." 

In the morning Gideon by God's command called his ten 
thousand men out, and made them march down the hill, just as 
though they were going to attack the enemy. And when they were 
beside the water he noticed how they drank; and set them apart 
in two companies, according to their way of drinking. As they 
came to the water, most of the men threw aside their shields and 
spears, and knelt down and scooped up a draught of the water with 
both hands together like a cup. These men Gideon commanded 
to stand in one company. 

There were a few men who did not stop to take a large draught 
of water. Holding spear and shield in the right hand, to be ready 
for the enemy if one should suddenly appear, they merely caught 
up a handful of the water in passing and marched on, lapping up 
the water from one hand. 

God said to Gideon, "Set by themselves these men who 
lapped up each a handful of water. These are the men whom I 
have chosen to set Israel free." 

Gideon counted these men, and found that there were only 
three hundred of them; while all the rest bowed down on their 
faces to drink. The difference between them was that these three 
hundred were earnest men, of one purpose ; not turning aside from 
their aim even to drink, as the others did. Then, too, they were 



The Midianite's Dream 225 

watchful men, always ready to meet their enemies. Suppose that 
the Midianites had rushed out on that army while nearly all of them 
were on their faces drinking, their arms thrown to one side, — how 
helpless they would have been ! But no enemy could have surprised 
the three hundred, who held their spears and shields ready, even 
while they were taking a drink. 

Some have thought that this test showed also who were wor- 
shippers of idols, and who worshipped God; for men fell on their 
faces when they prayed to the idols, but men stood up while they 
worshipped the Lord. Perhaps this act showed that most of the 
army were used to worship kneeling down before idols, and that 
only a few used to stand up before the Lord in their worship ; but 
of this we are not certain. It did show that here were three hun- 
dred brave, watchful men, obedient to orders, and ready for the 
battle. 

Then Gideon, at God's command, sent back to the camp on 
Mount Gilboa all the rest of his army, nearly ten thousand men; 
keeping with himself only his little band of three hundred. But 
before the battle God gave to Gideon one more sign, that he might 
be the more encouraged. 

God said to Gideon, " Go down with your servant into the camp 
of the Midianites, and hear what they say. It will cheer your heart 
for the fight." 

Then Gideon crept down the mountain with his servant, and 
walked around the edge of the Midianite camp, just as though he 
were one of their own men. He saw two men talking, and stood 
near to listen. One man said to the other: 

"I had a strange dream in the night. I dreamed that I saw 
a loaf of barley bread come rolling down the mountain ; and it struck 
the tent, and threw it down in a heap on the ground. What do you 
suppose that dream means?" 

"That loaf of bread," said the other, "means Gideon, a man 
of Israel, who will come down and destroy this army ; for the Lord 
God has given us all into his hand." 

Gideon was glad when he heard this, for it showed that the 
Midianites, for all their number, were in fear of him and of his army, 
even more than his men had feared the Midianites. He gave thanks 
to God, and hastened back to his camp, and made ready to lead his 
men against the Midianites. 

*S 



226 Gideon and His Brave Three Hundred 

Gideon's plan did not need a large army; but it needed a few 
careful, bold men, who should do exactly as their leader commanded 
them. He gave to each man a lamp, a pitcher, and a trumpet, and 
told the men just what was to be done with them. The lamp was 
lighted, but was placed inside the pitcher, so that it could not be 
seen. He divided his men into three companies ; and very quietly 
led them down the mountain, in the middle of the night; and 
arranged them all in order around the camp of the Midianites. 

Then at one moment a great shout rang out in the darkness, 
"The sword of the Lord and of Gideon," and after it came a crash 
of breaking pitchers, and then a flash of light in every direction. 
The three hundred men had given the shout, and broken their 
pitchers, so that on every side lights were shining. The men blew 
their trumpets with a mighty noise ; and the Midianites were roused 
from sleep, to see enemies all round them, lights beaming and swords 
flashing in the darkness, while everywhere the sharp sound of the 
trumpets was heard. 

They were filled with sudden terror and thought only of escape, 
not of fighting. But wherever they turned, their enemies seemed 
to be standing with swords drawn. They trampled each other down 
to death, flying from the Israelites. Their own land Avas in the east, 
across the river Jordan, and they fled in that direction, down one of 
the valleys between the mountains. 

Gideon had thought that the Midianites would turn toward 
their own land, if they should be beaten in the battle ; and he had 
already planned to cut off their flight. The ten thousand men in 
the camp he had placed on the sides of the valley leading to the 
Jordan. There they slew very many of the Midianites as they fled 
down the steep pass toward the river. And Gideon had also sent 
to the men of the tribe of Ephraim, who had thus far taken no part 
: n the war, to hold the only place at the river where men could wade 
through the water. Those of the Midianites who had escaped from 
Gideon's men on either side of the valley were now met by the 
Ephraimites at the river, and many more of them were slain. Among 
the slain were two of the princes of the Midianites, named Oreb and 
Zeeb. 

A part of the Midianite army was able to get across the river, and 
to continue its flight toward the desert ; but Gideon and his brave 
three hundred men followed closely after them; fought another 



Gideon's Gentle Answer 227 

battle with them, destroyed them utterly, and took their two kings, 
Zebah and Zalmunna, whom he killed. After this great victory the 
Israelites were freed forever from the Midianites. They never again 
ventured to leave their home in the desert to make war on the tribes 
of Israel. 

The tribe of Ephraim, in the middle of the land, was one of the 
most powerful of the twelve tribes. Its leaders were quite dis- 
pleased with Gideon, because their part in the victory had been so 
small. They said to Gideon, in an angry manner, "Why did you 
not send w^ord to us, when you were calling for men to fight the 
Midianites?" 

But Gideon knew how to make a kind answer. He said to 
them, "What have I done as compared with you? Did you not 
kill thousands of the Midianites at the crossing of the Jordan? Did 
you not take their two princes, Oreb and Zeeb? What could my 
men have done without the help of your men? " By gentle words 
and words of praise Gideon made the men of Ephraim friendly. 

And after this, as long as Gideon lived, he ruled as judge in 
Israel. The people wished him to make himself a king. " Rule 
over us as king," they said, " and let your son be king after you, and 
his son king after him." But Gideon said, "No; you have a king 
already; for the Lord God is the King of Israel. No one but God 
shall be king over these tribes." 

Of all the fifteen men who ruled as judges in Israel, Gideon, the 
fifth judge, was the greatest, in courage, in wisdom, and in faith in 
God. 

If all the people of Israel had been like him, there would have 
been no worship of idols, and no weakness before enemies, Israel 
would have been strong and faithful before God. But as soon as 
Gideon died, and even before his death, his people began once 
more to turn away from the Lord and to seek the idol-gods that 
could give them no help. 



Story (Eleven. 



JEPHTHAH'S RASH PROMISE, AND WHAT 
CAME FROM IT. 

Judges viii : 33, to xi : 40. 




LTHOUGH Gideon had refused to become a king, 
even when all the tribes desired him, after his death, 
one of his sons, whose name was Abimelech, tried 
to make himself a king. He began by killing all his 
brothers, except one who escaped. But his rule was 
only over Shechem and a few places near it, and lasted only a few 
years ; so that he was never named among the kings of Israel. 
Abimelech is sometimes called the sixth of the judges, though he 
did not deserve the title. After him came Tola, the seventh judge, 
and Jair, the eighth. Of these two judges very little is told. 

After this the Israelites again began to worship the idols of the 
Canaanites, and again fell under the power of their enemies. The 
Ammonites came against them from the southeast and held rule 
over the tribes on the east of Jordan. This was the sixth of "the 
oppressions;" and the man who set Israel free was Jephthah. He 
called together the men of the tribes on the east of Jordan — Reuben, 
Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh — and fought against the 
Ammonites. 

Before Jephthah went to the battle he said to the Lord: " If 
thou wilt give me victory over the Ammonites, then when I come 
back from the battle, whatever comes out of the house to meet 
me shall be the Lord's, and I will offer it up as a burnt-offering." 

This was not a wise promise, nor a right one ; for God had told 
the Israelites long before what offerings were commanded, as oxen 
and sheep, and what were forbidden. But Jephthah had lived on 
the border near the desert, far from the house of God at Shiloh, and 
he knew very little about God's law. 

Jephthah fought the Ammonites and won a victory, and drove 

(228) 




JEPHTHAH'S DAUGHTER AND HER YOUNG FRIEND^. 



230 Jephthah's Promise, What Came from It 



the enemies out of the land. Then, as he was going back to his 
home, his daughter, who was his only child, came out to meet him, 
leading the young girls, her companions, dancing and making music, 
to welcome his return. When Jephthah saw her he cried out in 
sorrow, "Oh, my daughter, what trouble you bring with you! I 
have given a promise to the Lord, and now I must keep it!" 

As soon as his daughter had learned what promise her father 
had made she met it bravely, as a true daughter of Israel. She said : 

" My father, you have made a solemn promise to the Lord, and 
you shall keep it, for God has given to you victory over the ene- 




JEPHTHAH MOURNING FOR HIS DAUGHTER. 

mies of your people. But let me live a little while and weep with 
my young friends over the death that I must suffer." 

For two months she stayed with the young girls upon the 
mountains, for perhaps she feared that if she was at home with her 
father he would fail to keep his promise. Then she gave herself up to 
death, and her father did with her as he had promised. 

In all the history of the Israelites this was the only time when 
a living man or woman was offered in sacrifice to the Lord. Among 
all the nations around Israel the people offered human lives, even 
those of their own children, to the idols which they worshipped. 



The Death of Jephthah's Daughter 231 



But the people of Israel remembered what God had taught Abra- 
ham when he was about to offer up Isaac ; and they never, except 
this once, laid a human offering upon God's altar. (See Story Ten, 
Part First.) If Jephthah had lived near the Tabernacle at Shiloh, 
and had been taught _^-T-^B^te^^^^ God's law, he would 
not have given ^ggrt| i ^fc jfc suc ^ a P ronnse > 

for God did ^jftk | Pl k not desire it ; 

and his / fck^ daughter's 

life J& would 

have JSk " ! K been 




saved 
all these 
it is easy to 
the Israelites 
the three hun- 
while the 
There was no 



JEPHTHAH OFFERS UP HIS DAUGHTER. 



From 
stories 
see how 
lived during 
dred years 
judges ruled, 
strong power 



to which all gave obedience; but each family lived as it chose. 
Many people worshipped the Lord ; but many more turned from 
the Lord to the idols, and then turned back to the Lord, after 
they had fallen under the hand of their enemies. In one part of 
the land they were free ; in another part they were ruled by the 
foreign peoples. 



Story Ctr>elr>e. 



THE STRONG MAN : HOW HE LIVED AND 
HOW HE DIED. 

Judges xiii : i, to xvi : 31. 




fFTER Jephthah three judges ruled in turn, named 
Ibzan, Elon, and Abdon. None of these were men 
of war, and in their days the land was quiet. 

But the people of Israel again began to worship 
idols; and as a punishment God allowed them once 
more to pass under the power of their enemies.- The seventh oppres- 
sion, which now fell upon Israel, was by far the hardest, the longest, 
and the most widely spread of any, for it was over all the tribes. It 
came from the Philistines, a strong and warlike people, who lived 
on the west of Israel upon the plain beside the Great Sea. They 
worshipped an idol called Dagon, which was made in the form of a 
fish's head on a man's body. 

These people, the Philistines, sent their armies up from the 
plain beside the sea to the mountains of Israel, and overran all the 
land. 

They took away from the Israelites all their swords and 
spears, so that they could not fight ; and they robbed their land of 
all the crops, so that the people suffered for want of food. And as 
before, the Israelites in their trouble cried to the Lord, and the Lord 
heard their prayer. 

In the tribe-land of Dan, which was next to the country of the 
Philistines, there was living a man named Manoah. One day an 
angel came to his wife, and said, " You shall have a son ; and when he 
grows up he will begin to save Israel from the hand of the Philistines. 
But your son must never drink any wine or strong drink as long 
as he lives. And his hair must be allowed to grow long, and 
must never be cut, for he shall be a Nazarite under a vow to the 
Lord." 

(232) 



234 



The Strong Man 



When a child was given especially to God, or when a man gave 
himself to some work for God, he was forbidden to drink wine, and 
as a sign, his hair was left to grow long while the vow or promise to 
God was upon him. Such a person as this was called a Nazarite, a 
word which means "one who has a vow," and Manoah's child was' 
to be a Nazarite, and under a vow, as long as he lived. 

The child was born, and was named Samson. He grew up 
to become the strongest man of whom the Bible tells. Samson 
was no general, like Gideon or Jephthah, to call out his people and 




YOUNG SAMSON SLAYS THE LION. 



lead them in war. He did much to set his people free ; but all that 
he did was by his own strength, without any help from other men. 

When Samson became a young man he went down to Timnath, 
in the land of the Philistines. There he saw a young Philistine 
woman whom he loved, and wished to have as his wife. His father 
and mother were not pleased that he should marry among the 
enemies of his own people. They did not know that God would 
make this marriage the means of bringing harm upon the Philistines, 
and of helping the Israelites. 



How They Found Out the Riddle 235 

As Samson was going down to Timnath, to see this young 
woman, a hungry young lion came out of the mountain, growling 
and roaring. Samson seized the lion, and tore him in pieces as 
easily as another man would have killed a little kid of the goats; 
and then w^ent on his way. He made his visit, and came home, but 
said nothing to any one about the lion. 

After a time Samson went again to Timnath, for his marriage 
with the Philistine woman. On his way he stopped to look at the 
dead lion; and in its body he found a swarm of bees, and honey 
which they had made. He took some of the honey, and ate it as 
he walked ; but told no one of it. 

At the wedding-feast, which lasted a whole week, there were 
many Philistine young men; and they amused each other with 
questions and riddles. 

"I will give you a riddle," said Samson. "If you answer it 
during the feast, I will give you thirty suits of clothing. And if you 
cannot answer it, then you must give me thirty suits of clothing." 

" Let us hear your riddle," they said. And this was Samson's 
riddle for the young men of the Philistines to answer : 

" Out of the eater came forth meat. 

And out of the strong came forth sweetness." 

They could not find the answer, though they tried to find it, all 
that day, and the two days that followed. And at last they came 
to Samson's wife, and said to her, "Coax your husband to tell you 
the answer. If you do not find it out, we will set your house on fire, 
and burn you and all your people." 

And Samson's wife urged him to tell her the answer. She cried 
and pleaded with him, and said, " If you really love me, you would / 
not keep this a secret from me." 

At last Samson yielded, and told his wife how he had killed the 
lion and afterward found the honey in its body. She told her peo- 
ple, and just before the end of the feast they came to Samson with 
the answer. They said, "What is sweeter than honey? And what 
is stronger than a lion?" 

And Samson said to them, "If you had not plowed with my 
heifer, you had not found out my riddle." 

By his "heifer" — which is a young cow — of course Samson 
meant his wife. Then Samson was required to give them thirty 



236 The Strong Man 

suits of clothing. He went out among the Philistines, killed the 
first thirty men whom he found, took off their clothes, and gave 
them to the guests at the feast. But all this made Samson very 
angry. He left his new wife and went home to his father's house. 
Then the parents of his wife gave her to another man. 

But after a time Samson's anger passed away, and he went 
again to Timnath to see his wife. But her father said to him, " You 
went away angry, and I supposed that you cared nothing for her. 
I gave her to another man, and now she is his wife. But here is 
her younger sister ; you can take her for your wife instead." 

But Samson would not take his wife's sister. He went out 
very angry, determined to do harm to the Philistines, because they 
had cheated him. He caught all the wild foxes that he could find, 
until he had three hundred of them. Then he tied them together 
in pairs, by their tails; and between each pair of foxes he tied to 
their tails a piece of dry wood which he set on fire. These foxes 
with firebrands on their tails he turned loose among the fields of 
the Philistines when the grain was ripe. They ran wildly over the 
fields, set the grain on fire, and burned it ; and with the grain the 
olive-trees in the fields. 

When the Philistines saw their harvests destroyed, they said, 
"Who has done this?" 

And people said, " Samson did this, because his wife Was given 
by her father to another man." 

The Philistines looked on Samson's father-in-law as the cause 
of their loss ; and they came, and set his house on fire, and burned 
the man and his daughter whom Samson had married. Then Sam- 
son came down again, and alone fought a company of Philistines, 
and killed them all, as a punishment for burning his wife. 

After this Samson w T ent to live in a hollow place in a split rock, 
called the rock of Etam. The Philistines came up in a great army, 
and overran the fields in the tribe-land of Judah. 

"Why do you come against us?" asked the men of Judah.' 
"What do you want from us?" "We have come," they said, 
"to bind Samson, and to deal with him as he has dealt with our 
people." 

The men of Judah said to Samson, " Do you not know that the 
Philistines are ruling over us? Why do you make them angry by 
killing their people? You see that we suffer through your pranks, 



Delilah Learning Samson's Secret 237 

Now we must bind you, and give you to the Philistines ; or they will 
ruin us all." 

And Samson said, "I will let you bind me, if you will promise 
not to kill me yourselves ; but only to give me safely into the hands 
of the Philistines." 

They made the promise ; and Samson gave himself up to them,i 
and allowed them to tie him up fast with new ropes. The Philis- 
tines shouted for joy as they saw their enemy brought to them, led 
in bonds by his own people. Little did they know what was to 
happen. For as soon as Samson came among them he burst the 
bonds as though they had been light strings ; and picked up from the 
ground the jawbone of an ass, and struck right and left with it as 
with a sword. He killed almost a thousand of the Philistines with 
this strange weapon. Afterward he sang a song about it, thus: 

" With the jawbone of an ass, heaps upon heaps, 
With the jawbone of an ass, have I slain a thousand men." 

After this Samson went down to the chief city of the Philistines, 
which was named Gaza. It was a large city ; and like all large cities 
was surrounded with a high wall. When the men of Gaza found 
Samson in their city, they shut the gates, thinking that they could 
now hold him as a prisoner. But in the night, Samson rose up, went 
to the gates, pulled their posts out of the ground, and put the gates 
with their posts upon his shoulder. He carried them twenty miles 
away, and left them on the top of a hill not far from the city of 
Hebron. 

After this Samson saw another woman among the Philistines, 
and he loved her. The name of this woman was Delilah. The 
rulers of the Philistines came to Delilah, and said to her : 

"Find out, if you can, what it is that makes Samson so 
strong ; and tell us. If you help us to get control of him, so that 
we can have him in our power, we will give you a great sum of 
money." 

And Delilah coaxed and pleaded with Samson to tell her what 
it was that made him so strong. Samson said to her, " If they will 
tie me with seven green twigs from a tree, then I shall not be strong 
any more." 

They brought her seven green twigs, like those of a willow- tree ; 
and she bound Samson with them while he was asleep. Then she 



238 The Strong Man 

called out to him, "Wake up, Samson, the Philistines are coming 
against you!" 

And Samson rose up, and broke the twigs as easily as if they 
had been charred in the fire, and went away with ease. 

And Delilah tried again to find his secret. She said, " You are 
only making fun of me. Now tell me truly how you can be bound." 

And Samson said, " Let them bind me with new ropes, that have 
never been used before ; and then I cannot get away. ' ' 

While Samson was asleep again, Delilah bound him with new 
ropes. Then she called out as before, "Get up, Samson, for the 
Philistines are coming!" And when Samson rose up, the ropes 
broke as if they were thread. And Delilah again urged him to tell 
her ; and he said : 

14 You notice that my long hair is in seven locks. Weave it 
together in the loom, just as if it were the threads in a piece of cloth." 

Then, while he was asleep, she wove his hair in the loom, and 
fastened it with a large pin to the weaving-frame. But when he 
awoke, he rose up, and carried away the pin and the beam of the 
weaving-frame, for he was as strong as before. 

And Delilah said, " Why do you tell me that you love me, as 
long as you deceive me, and keep from me your secret ! " And she 
pleaded with him day after day, until at last he yielded to her, and 
told her the real secret of his strength. He said: 

li I am a Nazarite, under a vow to the Lord not to drink wine, 
and not to allow my hair to be cut. If I should let my hair be cut 
short, then the Lord would forsake me, and my strength would go 
from me, and I would be like other men." 

Then Delilah knew that she had found the truth at last. She 
sent for the rulers of the Philistines, saying, ''Come up this once, 
and you shall have your enemy ; for I am sure now that he has 
told me all that is in his heart." 

Then, while the Philistines were watching outside, Delilah let 
Samson go to sleep, with his head upon her knees. While he was 
sound asleep, they took a razor and shaved off all his hair. Then 
she called out as at other times, "Rise up, Samson; the Philistines 
are upon you." 

He awoke, and rose up, expecting to find himself strong as 
before ; for he did not at first know that his long hair had been cut 
off. But he had broken his vow to the Lord, and the Lord had left 



Samson Dying with His Enemies 239 



him. He was now as weak as other men, and helpless in the 
hands of his enemies. The Philistines easily made him their pris- 
oner; and that he might never do them more harm, they put 
out his eyes. Then they chained him with fetters, and sent him 
to prison at Gaza. And in the prison they made Samson turn 
a heavy millstone to grind grain, just as though he were a beast 
of burden. 

But while Samson was in prison his hair grew long again ; and 
with his hair his 
strength came back to 
him, for Samson re- 
newed his vow to the 
Lord. 

One day a great 
feast was held by the 
Philistines in the tem- 
ple of their fish-god 
Dagon. For they said, 
"Our god has given 
Samson our enemy 
into our hands. Let 
us be glad together 
and praise Dagon." 

And the temple 
was thronged with peo- 
ple, and the roof over 
it was also crowded 
with more than three 
thousand men and 
I women. They sent 
for Samson, to rejoice 
over him ; and Samson 
was led into the court 
of the temple, before all the people, to amuse them. After a time, 
Samson said to the boy who was leading him : 

"Take me up to the front of the temple, so that I may stand 
by one of the pillars, and lean against it." 

And while Samson stood between two of the pillars, he prayed 
to the Lord God of Israel, and said, " Lord God, remember me, I 




SAMSON PULLING DOWN THE TEMPLE. 



240 The Strong Man 

pray thee, and give me strength only this once, O God; and help 
me, that I may obtain vengeance upon the Philistines for my two 
eyes!" 

Then he placed one arm around the pillar on one side, and the 
other arm around the pillar on the other side; and he said, "Let 
me die with the Philistines." 

And he bowed forward with all his might, and pulled the 
pillars over with him, bringing down the roof and all upon it upon 
those that were under it. Samson himself was among the dead; 
but in his death he killed more of the Philistines than he had killed 
during his life. 

Then in the terror which came upon the Philistines the men 
of Samson's tribe came down and found his dead body, and buried 
it in their own land. After that it was years before the Philistines 
tried again to rule over the Israelites. 

Samson did much to set his people free, but he might have 
done much more, if he had led his people, instead of trusting alone 
to his own strength; and if he had lived more earnestly, and not 
done his deeds as though he was playing pranks and making jokes 
upon his enemies. There were deep faults in Samson, but at the 
end he sought God's help and found it ; and God used Samson to 
begin to set his people free. 

The tribe to which Samson belonged was the tribe of Dan, a 
people who lived on the edge of the mountain country, between 
the mountains and the plains by the sea-coast, which was the 
home of the Philistines. The tribe-land of Dan was northwest 
of Judah, southwest of Ephraim, and west of Benjamin. Samson 
ruled over his own tribe, but not much over the other tribes. Yet 
his deeds of courage and strength kept the Philistines, during his 
lifetime, from getting control over the lands of Judah and Benja- 
min ; so that Samson helped to save Israel from its enemies. 







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Story Cfyirteen. 



THE IDOL TEMPLE AT DAN, AND ITS 

PRIEST. 

Judges xvii : i, to xviii : 31. 




HILE the judges were ruling in Israel, at one time 
there was living in the mountains of Ephraim, near 
the road which ran north and south, a man named 
Micah. His mother, who was dwelling with him, 
found that some one had stolen from her a large sum 
of money. Now, the money had been taken by her son Micah, and 
after a time he said to her : 

"Those eleven hundred pieces of silver which you lost, and of 
which you spoke, are with me ; for I took them myself." 

And his mother answered, "May the blessing of God rest upon 
you, my son, for bringing again to me my silver. This money shall 
be the Lord's. I will give it back to you, to be used in the service 
of the Lord." 

But instead of taking the money to the Tabernacle of the Lord 
at Shiloh, Micah used it to make two images of silver, one carved 
and the other cast in metal. These he set up in his house to be 
worshipped. He appointed one of his sons as a priest, and thus 
made of his house an idol temple. 

One day a man on a journey was passing by Micah 's house. 
Micah saw from his dress that he belonged to the tribe of Levi, from 
which the priests came. He said to him, "Who are you? From 
what place do you come ? ' ' 

The young man said, "I am a Levite, from Bethlehem in the 
land of Judah, and I am trying to find a place where I can earn my 
living." 

" Stay here with me," said Micah, " and be a priest in my house. 
I will give you your food, and a place to sleep, and for each year a 
suit of clothes and ten pieces of silver. " 
16 (241) 



242 The Idol Temple at Dan, and Its Priest 

The Levite was well pleased at this, and stayed in Micah's 
house, and became his priest. And Micah said to himself : 

" I am sure that now the Lord will be pleased with me, since I 
have a house with gods and a Levite as my priest. ' ' 

Already many in Israel had forgotten that God would not bless 
those who set up idols when they should worship the Lord God. 

The tribe of Dan was living at that time between the country 
of the Philistines and the tribe of Benjamin, having Judah on the 
south and Ephraim on the north. The Philistines pressed closely 
upon them, and they sought some place where they could live with 
more room and at peace. 

They sent out from their tribe-land five men as spies, to go 
through the country and find some better place for the home of their 
tribe. These five men walked through the land, and they came to 
the house of Micah. Micah took them into his house, for it was the 
custom thus to care for people who were on a journey. 

These men from Dan, who were called Danites, had seen Micah's 
priest before in his earlier home. They knew him, and asked him 
how he came to be there. The young Levite told them that Micah 
had hired him to become his priest. He took them into the temple- 
room and showed them the images and the altar, and he offered a 
sacrifice and a prayer for them. 

Then the five men left Micah's house and went on their way. 
They walked through all the tribes in the north ; and far up among 
the mountains, near one of the great fountains where the river 
Jordan begins, they found a little city called Laish. The people 
of Laish were not Israelites, but came from the country of Zidon. 
The Danites saw that their little city was far from Zidon, and that 
its people were living alone, with none of their own race to help 
them. 

The men of Dan walked back over the mountains to their own 
people, near the Philistine country; and they brought back an 
account of their journey through the land. They said : 

"We have found a good place, far up in the north, where there 
is room for us, and a rich soil, and plenty of water. Come with us, 
and let us take that place for our home." 

So a large part of the tribe of Dan, with their wives and their 
children, went up toward this place. Among them were six hun- 
dred men with shields, and swords, and spears for war. As they 



Micah's Images Stolen 



243 



came near to Micah's house, one of the five men who had been there 
before said to them: 

" Do you know that in one of these houses there is an altar, and 
a carved image, and another image, both of silver? Now think 
what you would better do." 

Then the five men came again into Micah's temple while the 
six hundred soldiers stood outside. They were just about to carry 




. ■■-: -: '^ ■ -•-....•-.■-.■..; 




A HARVEST FIELD IN THE TIME OF THE JUDGES. 

away the silver images when the Levite said to them, "What are 
you doing?" 

And the men said to him, "Never mind what we are doing. 
Keep still and come with us. Is it not better for you to be a priest 
to a whole tribe than to one man? " 

Then the young priest said no more. He took away 'all the 
priestly robes, and the silver ornaments, and the images, and went 
away with the people of Dan. When Micah came home he found 
that his temple had been robbed and his images and his priest were 
taken away. 

He gathered some of his neighbors, and they hastened after 



244 The Idol Temple at Dan, and Its Priest 

the people of Dan. When they caught up with them Micah cried 
out aloud to them. The men of Dan turned, and said to Micah: 

"What is the matter with you, that you come after us with a 
company and make such a noise?" 

And Micah answered, "You have taken away my gods which I 
made, and my priest; and now what is left to me? And you say 
to me, 'What is the matter?'" 

Then the men of Dan said, "Be careful what you say, or you 
may make some of our men angry, and they will fall on you, and 
then you will lose your life ! " 

Micah saw that the men of Dan were too strong for him to fight 
them, so he went back to his house without his priest and without 
his images. The Danites went up to the little city of Laish, in the 
north. They took it, and killed all the people who were living there. 
Then they built the city again, and changed its name to Dan, the 
name of the father of their tribe. 

There, at Dan, they built a temple, and in it they set up the 
images, and this Levite became their priest. And the strangest 
part of all the story is, that this Levite was a grandson of Moses, 
the man of God and the great prophet. So soon did the people 
of Israel fall into sin, and so deeply, that the grandson of Moses 
became the priest in a temple of idols. And at this time the house 
of God was at Shiloh ; yet at Dan during those years and for many 
years afterward was a temple of idols, and within its walls a line of 
priests descended from Moses were worshipping and offering sacri- 
fices to images. 

And as the temple of idols in Dan was much nearer to the 
people in the northern part of the land than was the house of the 
Lord, the Tabernacle at Shiloh, very many of those who lived in 
the north, went to this idol-temple to worship. So the people of 
Israel were led away from God to serve idols. This was very 
displeasing to God. 



Story 5 0ur ^ n< 



HOW RUTH GLEANED IN THE FIELD 
OF BOAZ. 

Ruth i : i, to iv : 22. 




N the time of the judges in Israel, a man named 
Elimelech was living in the town of Bethlehem, 
in the tribe of Judah, about six miles south of 
Jerusalem. His wife's name was Naomi, and his 
two sons were Mahlon and Chilion. For some years 
the crops were poor, and food was scarce in Judah ; and Elimelech, 
with his family, went to live in the land of Moab, which was on the 
east of the Dead Sea, as Judah was on the west. 

There they stayed ten years, and in that time Elimelech died. 
His two sons married women of the country of Moab, one woman 
named Orpah, the other named Ruth. But the two young men 
also died in the land of Moab, so that Naomi and her two daughters- 
in-law T were all left widows. 

Naomi heard that God had again given good harvests and 
bread to the land of Judah, and she rose up to go from Moab back 
to her own land and her own town of Bethlehem. Her two daugh- 
ters-in-law loved her and both would have gone with her, though 
the land of Judah was a strange land to them, for they were of the 
Moabite people. 

Naomi said to them, "Go back, my daughters, to your own 
mothers' homes. May the Lord deal kindly with you, as you 
have been kind to your husbands and to me. May the Lord 
grant that each of you may yet find another husband and a happy 
home." Then Naomi kissed them in farewell, and the three women 
all wept together. The two young widows said to her, "You have 
been a good mother to us, and we will go with you, and live among 
your people." 

"No, no," said Naomi. "You are young, and I am old. Go 
back and be happy among your own people." 

(245) 



246 



Ruth Gleaned in the Field of Boaz 



Then Orpah kissed Naomi and went back to her people; but 
Ruth would not leave her. She said, " Do not ask me to leave you, 
for I never will. Where you go, I will go ; where you live, I will live ; 
your people shall be my people; and your God shall be my God. 




ORPAH LEAVES NAOMI. 



Where you die, I will die, and be buried. Nothing but death itself 
shall part you and me." 

When Naomi saw that Ruth was firm in her purpose, she ceased 
trying to persuade her; so the two women went on together. They 



248 Ruth Gleaned in the Field of Boaz 

walked around the Dead Sea, and crossed the river Jordan, and 
climbed the mountains of Judah, and came to Bethlehem. 

Naomi had been absent from Bethlehem for ten years, but her 
friends were all glad to see her again. They said, " Is this Naomi, 
whom we knew years ago?" Now the name Naomi means "pleas- 
ant." And Naomi said : 

" Call me not Naomi; call me Mara, for the Lord has made my 
life bitter. I went out full, with my husband and two sons; now 
I come home empty, without them. Do not call me 'Pleasant'; 
call me 'Bitter.' ' The name "Mara," by which Naomi wished to 
be called, means "bitter." But Naomi learned later that "Pleas- 
ant" was the right name for her after all. 

There was living in Bethlehem at that time a very rich man 
named Boaz. He owned large fields that were abundant in their 
harvests; and he was related to the family of Elimelech, Naomi's 
husband, who had died. 

It was the custom in Israel when they reaped the grain not to 
gather all the stalks, but to leave some for the poor people, who 
followed after the reapers with their sickles, and gathered what 
was left. When Naomi and Ruth came to Bethlehem it was the 
time of the barley harvest; and Ruth went out into the fields to 
glean the grain which the reapers had left. It so happened 
that she was gleaning in the field that belonged to Boaz, this rich 
man. 

Boaz came out from the town to see his men reaping, and he 
said to them, "The Lord be with you;" and they answered him, 
" The Lord bless you. " And Boaz said to his master of the reapers, 
"Who is this young woman that I see gleaning in the field? " 

The man answered, "It is the young woman from the land of 
Moab, who came with Naomi. She asked leave to glean after the 
reapers, and has been here gathering grain since yesterday." 

Then Boaz said to Ruth, " Listen to me, my daughter. Do not 
go to any other field, but stay here with my young women. No 
one shall harm you ; and when you are thirsty, go and drink at our 
vessels of water." 

Then Ruth bowed to Boaz, and thanked him for his kindness, 
all the more kind because she was a stranger in Israel. Boaz said: 

" I have heard how true you have been to your mother-in-law. 
Naomi, in leaving your own land and coming with her to this land. 



Ruth Becomes the Rich Man's Wife 249 

May the Lord, under whose wings you have come, give you a 
reward!" And at noon, when they sat down to rest and to eat, 
Boaz gave her some of the food. And he said to the reapers : 

11 When you are reaping, leave some of the sheaves for her ; and 
drop out some sheaves from the bundles, where she may gather 
them." 

That evening Ruth showed Naomi how much she had gleaned, 
and told her of the rich man Boaz, who had been so kind to her. 
And Naomi said, "This man is a near relation of ours. Stay in his 




RUTH WILL NOT LEAVE NAOMI. 



fields as long as the harvest lasts." And so Ruth gleaned in the 
fields of Boaz until the harvest had been gathered. 

At the end of the harvest Boaz held a feast on the threshing- 
floor. And after the feast, by the advice of Naomi, Ruth went to 
him, and said to him, "You are a near relation of my husband and 
of his father, Elimelech. Now will you not do good to us for his 
sake?" 

And when Boaz saw Ruth he loved her; and soon after this 
he took her as his wife. And Naomi and Ruth went to live in his 



250 The Little Boy with a Linen Coat 

home ; so that Naomi's life was no more bitter, but pleasant. And 
Boaz and Ruth had a son, whom they named Obed ; and later Obed 
had a son named Jesse ; and Jesse was the father of David, the shep- 
herd boy who became king. So Ruth, the young woman of Moab, 
who chose the people and the God of Israel, became the mother of 
kings. 



Stovy $\iteen. 



THE LITTLE BOY WITH A LINEN COAT, 

I Samuel i : i, to iii : 21. 




AMSON the strong man (see Story Twelve) ruled Israel 
as the thirteenth of the judges ; and after him came 
Eli as the fourteenth judge. Eli was also the high- 
priest of the Lord in the Tabernacle at Shiloh. 

While Eli was the priest and the judge, a man was 
living at Ramah in the mountains of Ephraim, whose name was 
Elkanah. He had two wives, as did many men in that time. One 
of these wives had children, but the other wife, whose name was 
Hannah, had no child. 

Every year Elkanah and his family went up to worship at the 
house of the Lord in Shiloh, which was about fifteen miles from his 
home. And at one of these visits Hannah prayed to the Lord, 
saying : 

" Lord, if thou wilt look upon me, and give me a son, he shall 
be given to the Lord as long as he lives." 

The Lord heard Hannah's prayer, and gave her a little boy; 

and she called his name Samuel, which means "Asked of God," 

because he had been given in answer to her prayer. While he was 

still a little child she brought him to Eli, the priest, and said to him : 

"My lord, I am the woman who stood here praying. I asked 



Little Samuel in the Tabernacle 



251 



God for this child; and now I have promised that he shall be the 
Lord's as long as he lives. Let him stay here with you and grow 
up in God's house." 

So the child Samuel stayed at Shiloh and lived with Eli the 
priest in one 
of t h e tents 
b e side the 
Tabernacle. 
As he grew up 
he helped Eli 
in the work of 
the Lord's 
house. He lit 
the lamps, and 
opened the 
doors, and pre- 
pared the in- 
cense, and 
waited on Eli, 
who was now 
growing old 
and was al- 
most blind. 

Samuel 
was all the 
more a help 
and a comfort 
to Eli because 
his own sons, 
who were 
priests, were 
very wicked 

yOUng men. HANNAH BRINGS HER BOY TO ELI. 

Eli had not 

trained them to do right, nor punished them when they did wrong, 
when they were children ; so they grew up to become evil, to dis- 
obey God's law, and to be careless in God's worship. Eli's heart 
was very sad over the sins of his sons ; but now that he was old 
he could do nothing to control them. 




252 The Little Boy with a Linen Coat 

It had been a long time since God had spoken to men, as in 
other days God had spoken to Moses, to Joshua, and to Gideon. 
The men of Israel were longing for the time to come when God 
would speak again to his people as of old. 

One night Samuel, while yet a child, was lying down upon his 
bed in a tent beside the Tabernacle; he heard a voice calling him 
by name. It was the Lord's voice, but Samuel did not know it. 

He answered, "Here I am!" and then he ran to Eli, saying, 
" Here I am. You called me ; what do you wish me to do? " 

And Eli said, " My child, I did not call you. Go and lie down 
again." 

Samuel lay down, but soon again heard the voice calling to him, 
' ' Samuel ! Samuel ! ' ' 

Again he rose up and went to Eli, and said, " Here I am; for I 
am sure that you called me." 

" No," said Eli, " I did not call you. Lie down again." 
A third time the voice was heard; and a third time the boy 
rose up from his bed and went to Eli, sure that Eli had called him. 
Eli now saw that this was the Lord's voice that had spoken to 
Samuel. He said: 

" Go, lie down once more ; and if the voice speaks to you again, 
say ' Speak, Lord, for thy servant heareth.' " 

Samuel went and lay down, and waited for the voice. It spoke 
as if some one unseen were standing by his bed, and saying, " Sam- 
uel! Samuel!" 

Then Samuel said to the Lord, "Speak, Lord, for thy servant 
heareth." 

And the Lord said to Samuel : 

"Listen to what I say. I have seen the wickedness of Eli's 
sons. And I have seen that their father did not punish them when 
they were doing evil. I am going to give to them such a punish- 
ment that the story shall make every one's ears tingle who hears it." 
Samuel lay in his room until the morning. Then he arose and 
went about his work as usual, preparing for the daily worship and 
opening the doors. He said nothing of God's voice until Eli asked 
him. Eli said to him: 

" Samuel, my son, tell me what the Lord said to you last night. 
Hide nothing from me." 

And Samuel told Eli all that God had said, though it was a sad 



254 How the Idol Fell Down Before the Ark 

message to Eli. And Eli said, "It is the Lord; let him do what 
seems good to him." 

And then the news went through all the land that God had 
spoken once more to his people . And Hannah, the lonely mother 
in the mountains of Ephraim, heard that her son was the prophet 
to whom God spoke as his messenger to all Israel. 

From that time God spoke to Samuel, and Samuel gave God's 
word to the twelve tribes. 



Story Sixteen. 



HOW THE IDOL FELL DOWN BEFORE 

THE ARK. 

I Samuel iv : i, to vii : I. 




,HILE the old priest Eli was still the judge, though he 
was now very feeble, the Philistines came up against 
Israel from the plain beside the sea. A battle was 
fought, and many of the Israelites were slain. Then 
the chiefs of the people said : 
" We have been beaten in the battle, because the Lord was not 
with us. Let us take with us against our enemies the ark of the 
covenant from the Tabernacle, and then the Lord will be among us.'* 
So they went to Shiloh, and they took out from the Holy of 
Holies in the Tabernacle (see Story Twenty-seven in Part First) the 
ark of the covenant, and the two sons of Eli the priest went with 
the ark to care for it. When the ark was brought into the camp 
of the Israelites all the men of war gave a great shout, so that the 
earth rang with the sound. 

And when the Philistines heard the shouting they wondered 



The Ark Taken by Enemies 255 

what caused it, and some one told them that it was because the 
God of the Israelites had come into their camp. The Philistines 
were afraid, and they said to each other: 

"Woe unto us, for such a thing as this has never been seen! 
Who shall save us from this great God who sent plagues on the 
Egyptians? Let us be bold, and act like men, and fight, so that 
we may not be made servants to the Israelites, as they have been 
to us!" 

The next day there was a great battle. The Philistines over- 
came the Israelites and slew thousands of them. They killed the 
two sons of Eli, and they took the ark of the Lord away with them 
into their own land. 

On the day of the battle Eli, old and blind, was sitting beside 
the door of the Tabernacle, his heart trembling for the ark of the 
Lord. A man came from the army running, with his garments torn, 
and with earth on his head as a sign of sorrow. As the man came 
near the city and brought the news of the battle a great cry rose up 
from the people. When Eli heard the noise he said : 

''What does this noise mean? What has happened?" 

The man came before Eli, and said : 

" I have just come from the army. There has been a great 
battle. Israel has fled before the Philistines, and very many of 
the people have been killed. Your two sons are dead, and the ark 
of God has been taken by the enemy." 

When the old man heard this last word, that the ark of God 
was taken, he fell backward from his seat and dropped dead upon 
the ground. And all the land mourned and wept over the loss of 
the ark more than over the victory of the Philistines. 

The Philistines took the ark of God down to Ashdod, one of 
their chief cities. They set it in the temple of Dagon, their fish- 
headed idol. The next morning, when they came into the temple, 
the Image of Dagon was lying upon its face before the ark of the 
Lord. They stood the image up again ; but on the next morning, 
not only was Dagon fallen down before the ark, but the hands and 
the head of Dagon had been cut off and were lying on the floor. 

Besides all this, in the city of Ashdod, where the ark had been 
taken, all the people began to have boils and sores. They saw in 
this the hand of the God of Israel, and they sent the ark to Gath, 
another of their cities. There, too, the people broke out with boils 



256 How the Idol Fell Down Before the Ark 

and sores. They sent the ark to Ekron, but the people of that city 
said: 

" We will not have the ark of God among us. Send it back to 
its own land, or we shall all die." 

Then the rulers of the Philistines resolved to send back the ark 
of God into the land of Israel. They placed it upon a wagon, and 
before the wagon they yoked two cows. The cows had calves, but 
they tied the calves at home, in order to find whether the cows would 
go home to their calves or would take the ark away. But the cows 
took the road which led away from their own calves, straight up the 
hills toward the land of Israel, and they turned neither to the right 
hand nor the left. 

■ The cows drew the ark up to the village of Beth-shemesh, 
where the people were reaping their wheat harvest on the hillsides. 
They saw the ark, and were glad. The cows stopped beside a great 
stone in the field. Then the men of Beth-shemesh cut up the wagon, 
and with it made a fire, and on the stone as an altar offered the two 
cows as an offering to the Lord. 

But the men of Beth-shemesh opened the ark and looked into 
it. This was contrary to God's command, for none but the priests 
were allowed to touch the ark. God sent a plague upon the people 
of that place, and many of them died, because they did not deal 
reverently with the ark of God. 

They were filled with fear and sent to the men of Kirjath- 
jearim, asking them to take the ark away. They did so, and for 
twenty years the ark stood in the house of a man named Abinadab 
in Kirjath-jearim. 

They did not take the ark back to Shiloh, for after the death 
of Eli the place was deserted, the Tabernacle fell into rums, and 
no man lived there again. 



Story Seventeen. 



THE LAST OF THE JUDGES. 

I Samuel vii : 2 to 17. 




L HEN the ark of God was taken and the Tabernacle fell 
into ruins, Samuel was still a boy. He went to his 
father's house at Ramah, which was in the moun- 
tains, about four miles north of Jerusalem. Ramah 
was the home of Samuel after this as long as he lived. 

For some years, while Samuel was growing up, there was no 
judge in Israel, and no head of the tribes. The Philistines ruled 
the people and took from them a large part of their harvests, their 
sheep, and their oxen. Often in their need they thought of the 
ark of the Lord, standing alone in the house at Kirjath-jearim. 
And the eyes of all the people turned to the young Samuel growing 
up at Ramah. For Samuel walked with God, and God spoke to 
Samuel, as God had spoken to Abraham, and to Moses, and to 
Joshua. 

As soon as Samuel had grown up to be a man, he began to go 
among the tribes and to give to the people everywhere God's word 
to them. And this was what Samuel said : 

" If you will really come back with all your heart to the Lord 
God of Israel, put away the false gods, the images of Baal, and of 
Asherah, and seek the Lord alone and serve him, then God will set 
you free from the Philistines. 

After Samuel's words the people began to throw down the 
idols and to pray to the God of Israel. And Samuel called the 
people from all the land to gather in one place, as many as could 
come. They met at a place called Mizpah, in the mountains of 
Benjamin, not far from Jerusalem. 

There Samuel prayed for the people, and asked God to forgive 
their sin in turning away from God to idols. They confessed their 
wrong-doings, and made a solemn promise to serve the Lord, and 
to serve the Lord only. 

17 (257) 



2 5 S 



The Last of the Judges 



The Philistines upon the plain beside the Great Sea heard of 
this meeting. They feared that the Israelites were about to break 
away from their rule, and they came up with an army to drive the 
Israelites away to their homes and keep them under the rule of the 
Philistines. 

When the Israelites saw the Philistines coming against them 
they were greatly alarmed. The Philistines were men of war, with 
swords, and shields, and spears, and they were trained in fighting ; 
while the men of Israel had not seen war. It was more than twenty 
years since their fathers had fought the Philistines and twice had 

been beaten by 
them. They 
had neither 
weapons nor 
training, and 
they felt them- 
selves helpless 
against their 
enemies. They 
looked to 
Samuel, just 
as children 
would look to 
a father, a n d 
they said to 
him, "Do not 

TOMB NEAR JERUSALEM CALLED "THE TOMB OF THE JUDGES.*' CeaSC praying 

and crying to 
the Lord for us, that he may save us from the Philistines." 

Then Samuel took a lamb and offered it up to the Lord as a 
burnt-offering for the people, and he prayed mightily that God 
would help Israel ; and God heard his prayer. 

Just as the Philistines were rushing upon the helpless men of 
Israel there came a great storm with rolling thunder and flashing 
lightning. Such storms do not come often in that land, and this 
was so heavy that it frightened the Philistines. They threw down 
their spears and swords in sudden terror and ran away. 

The men of Israel picked up these arms and gathered such 
other weapons as they could find, and they followed the Philistines 




The Stone of Help 259 

and killed many of them, and won a great victory over them. By 
this one stroke the power of the Philistines was broken, and they 
lost their rule over Israel. And it so happened that the place 
where Samuel won this great victory was the very place where the 
Israelites had been beaten twice before, the place where the ark of 
God had been taken, as we read in the last Story. On the battle- 
field Samuel set up a great stone to mark the place, and he gave it 
the name Eben-ezer, which means "The Stone of Help." 

"For," said Samuel, "this was the place where the Lord 
helped us." 

After this defeat the Philistines came no more into the land 
of Israel in the years while Samuel ruled as judge over the tribes. 
He was the fifteenth of the judges, and the last. He went through- 
out the land, and people everywhere brought to him their questions 
and their differences for Samuel to decide, for they knew that he 
was a good man and would do justly between man and man. From 
each journey he came back to Ramah. There was his home, and 
there he built an altar to the Lord. 

Samuel lived many years, and ruled the people wisely, so that 
all trusted in him. He taught the Israelites to worship the Lord 
God, and to put away the idols, which so many of them had 
served. While Samuel ruled there was peace in all the tribes, 
and no enemies came from the lands around to do harm to the 
Israelites. But the Philistines were still very strong, and held 
rule over some parts of Israel near their own land, although there 
was no war. Samuel was not a man of war, like Gideon or Jeph- 
thah, but a man of peace, and his rule was quiet, though it was 
strong. 



Stovy (Eighteen. 



THE TALL MAN WHO WAS CHOSEN 

KING. 

I Samuel viii : i, to x : 27. 




,HEN Samuel, the good man and the wise judge, grew 
old he made his sons judges in Israel, to help him 
in the care of the people. But Samuel's sons did 
not walk in his ways. They did not try always to 
do justly. When men brought matters before them 
to be decided, they would decide for the one who gave them 
money, and not always for the one who was in the right. 

The elders of all the tribes of Israel came to Samuel at his home 
in Ramah, and they said to him, "You are growing old, and your 
sons do not rule as well as you have ruled. All the lands around 
us have kings. Let us have a king also, and do you choose the 
king for us." 

This was not pleasing to Samuel, not because he wished to rule, 
but because the Lord God was their king, and he felt that for Israel 
to have such a king as those who ruled the nations around them 
would be turning away from the Lord. Samuel prayed to the Lord, 
and the Lord said to him, " Listen to the people in what they ask, 
for they have not turned away from you ; they have turned away 
from me in asking for a king. Let them have a king, but tell them 
of the wrong that they are doing, and show them what trouble their 
king will bring upon them." 

Then Samuel called the elders of the people together, and he 
said to them, " If you have a king, as do the nations around, he will 
take your sons away from you, and will make some of them soldiers, 
and horsemen, and men to drive his chariots. He will take others 
of your sons to wait on him, to work in his fields, and to make his 
chariots and his weapons for war. Your king will take the best of 
your fields and your farms, and will give them to the men of his 

(260) 



The King of Israel Found 261 

court who are around him. He will make your daughters cook for 
him, and make bread, and serve in his palace. He will take a part 
of your sheep, and your oxen, and your asses. You will find that 
he will be your master and you shall be his servants. The time 
shall come when you will cry out to the Lord on account of the king 
that you have chosen, and the Lord will not hear you." But the 
people would not follow Samuel's advice. They said, " No, we will 
have a king to reign over us, so that we may be like other nations, 
and our king shall be our judge and shall lead us out to war." 

It was God's will that Israel should be a quiet, plain people, 
living alone in the mountains, serving the Lord and not trying to 
conquer other nations. But they wished to be a great people, to 
be strong in war and to have riches and power. And the Lord said 
to Samuel, " Do as the people ask, and choose a king for them." 

Then Samuel sent the people to their homes, promising to find 
a king for them. 

There was at that time in the tribe of Benjamin a young man 
named Saul, the son of Kish. He was a very large man and noble 
looking. From his shoulders he stood taller than any other man 
in Israel. His father Kish was a rich man, with wide fields and 
many flocks. Some asses that belonged to Kish had strayed away, 
and Saul went out with a servant to find them. While they were 
looking for the asses they came near to Ramah, where Samuel lived. 
The servant said to Saul, " There is in this city a man of God whom 
all men honor. They say that he can tell what is about to happen, 
for he is a seer. Let us go to him and give him a present. Perhaps 
he can tell us where to find the asses." 

In those times a man to whom God made known his will was 
called a seer ; in later times he was called a prophet. 

So Saul and his servant came to Ramah and asked for the seer ; 
and while they were coming the seer, who was Samuel, met them. 
On the day before the Lord had spoken to Samuel, and had said : 

"To-morrow, about this time, I will send you a man out of the 
tribe of Benjamin, and you shall make him the prince of my people, 
and he shall save my people from the Philistines." 

And when Samuel saw this tall and noble -looking young man 
coming to meet him, he heard the Lord's voice, saying: 

"This is the man of whom I spoke to you. He is the one that 
shall rule over my people." 



262 The Tall Man Who was Chosen King 



Then Saul came near to Samuel, not knowing who he was, and 
he said, "Can you tell me where the seer's house is?" And Samuel 

answered Saul, 
"I am the 
seer; come 
with me up to 
the hill. We 
are to have an 
offering and a 
feast there. 
As for the 
asses that were 
lost three days 
ago, do not be 
troubled about 
them, for they 
have been 
found. But 
on whom is 
the desire of 
all Israel? Is 
it not on you 
and on your 
father's 
house ? ' ' Saul 
could not 
think what 
the seer meant 
in those last 
words. He 
said, "Is not 
my tribe of 
Benjamin the 
smallest of all 
the tribes ? And is not my family the least of all the families in the 
tribe? Why do you say such things to me?" 

But Samuel led Saul and his servant into the best room at his 
house; at the table, where thirty had been invited, he gave Saul 
the best place, and he put before him the choicest of the meat, and 




SAMUEL ANOINTS SAUL KING, 



A New Spirit Comes to Saul 26 3 

he said, "This has been kept for you of all those invited to the 
feast." 

That night Saul and his servant slept in the best room, which 
was on the roof of Samuel's house. And the next morning Samuel 
sent the servant on while he spoke with Saul alone. He brought 
out a vial of oil and poured it on Saul's head, and said: 

"The Lord has anointed you to be prince over his land and his 
people." 

Then he told Saul just what he would find on the way, where 
he would meet certain people, and what he must do. He said : 

"When you come to the tomb where Rachel is buried, two men 
will meet you and will say to you, 'The asses for which you were 
looking have been found, and now your father is looking for you.' 
Then under an oak you will meet three men carrying three kids, 
three loaves of bread, and a skin-bottle full of wine ; and these men 
will give you as a present two loaves of bread. Next you will meet 
a company of prophets, men full of God's Spirit, with instruments 
of music, and the Lord's Spirit shall come upon you and a new 
heart shall be given to you. All these things will show you that 
God is with you. Now go, and do whatever God tells you to do." 

And it came just as Samuel had said. These men met Saul, 
and when the prophets came near, singing and praising God, Saul 
joined them and also sang and praised the Lord. And in that hour 
a new spirit came to Saul. He was no more the farmer's son, for 
in him was the soul of a king. 

He came home, and told at home how he had met Samuel, and 
that Samuel said to him that the asses had been found. But he did 
not tell them that Samuel had poured oil upon his head and said 
that he was to be the king of Israel. 

Then Samuel called all the people to the meeting place at 
Mizpah. And he told them that they had wished for a king, and 
God had chosen a king for them. 

"Now," said Samuel, "let the men of the tribes pass by, each 
tribe and each family by itself." 

The people passed by Samuel, and when the tribe of Benjamin 
came, out of all the tribes Benjamin was taken; out of Benjamin 
one family, and out of that family .Saul's name was called. But 
Saul was not with his family; he had hidden away. They found 
him and brought him out; and when he stood among the people 



264 The Tall Man Who was Chosen King 



his head and shoulders rose above them all. And Samuel said: 
" Look at the man whom the Lord has chosen! There is not 
another like him among all the people ! ' ' And all the people shouted 
"God save the king! Long live the king!" 

Then Samuel told the people what should be the laws for the 
king and for the people to obey. He wrote them down in a book, 

and placed the book before 
the Lord. Then Samuel sent 
the people home, and Saul 
went back to his own house 
at a place called Gibeah, and 
with Saul went a company 
of men to whose hearts God 




A COMPANY OF PROPHETS MEET SAUL. 



had given a love for the king. So after three hundred years 
under the fifteen judges Israel now had a king. But among the 
people there were some who were not pleased with the new king, 
because he was an unknown man from the farm. They said, "Can 
such a man as this save us? " They showed no respect to the king 
and in their hearts looked down upon him. But Saul said noth- 
ing and showed his wisdom by appearing not to notice them. 



Part £fnrb 



Stones of tfye dfyree d5reat 
Kings of 3srael 



Stovy (Dm. 

HOW SAUL SAVED THE EYES OF THE 
MEN OF JABESH. 

I Samuel xi : i, to xii : 25. 




AUL was now the king of all the twelve tribes of Israel, 
but he did not at once in his manner of life set up the 
state of a king. He lived at home, and worked in the 
fields on his father's farm, just as he had always done. 
One day, while Saul was plowing in the field with 
a yoke of oxen, a man came running with sad news. He said that 
the Ammonites, a fierce people living near the desert on the east, 
beyond the Jordan, had come up against Jabesh in Gilead, led by 
their king, Nahash. The people in that city were too few to fight 
the Ammonites, and they said, " We will submit to your rule, if you 
will promise to spare our lives." 

And Nahash, the king of the Ammonites, said to the people of 
Jabesh, " You shall live, but within seven days I will come with my 
soldiers, and I will put out the right eye of every man in your city." 
When a city was taken by its enemies in those times, such cruel 
deeds were common. Often all the people in it, young and old, 
were slain without mercy. The men of Jabesh sent a messenger 
to go to Saul as swiftly as possible, and to tell him of the terrible 
fate that was hanging over them. 

When Saul heard of it the spirit of a king rose within him. He 
killed the oxen that he was driving, cut them into twelve pieces, and 
sent swift messengers through all the land, to say to every fighting 
man in the twelve tribes, " Whoever will not come out after Saul and 
after Samuel, so shall it be done to his oxen." 

And the Lord gave to all the people the spirit of obedience to 

(267) 



268 How Saul Saved the Eyes of Jabesh 

their king. At once a great army gathered at a place called 
Bezek, and he sent word to Jabesh, saying, "To-morrow, by the 
time the sun is hot, you will be set free from all fear of the Am- 
monites." 

Saul and his men marched swiftly over the mountains of Ben- 
jamin and down into the Jordan valley. They walked across the 
river where it was shallow and climbed the mountains of Gilead. 




A MESSENGER BRINGS SAUL SAD NEWS. 



There they fell furiously upon the Ammonites early in the morn- 
ing, killed many of them and scattered the rest, so that not even 
two of their men could be found together. 

We read in the last Story that when Saul was made king some 
men were not pleased and were unwilling to submit to him. Now 
that a great victory had been won under Saul as leader, the people 
said with one voice, "Where are those men who would not honor 
our king? Bring them out, and let them be put to death." 

But King Saul said, " There shall not a man be put to death this 



SamuePs Farewell Words 26 9 

day, for to-day the Lord has set his people free from their enemies." 
Samuel was with Saul, and he said, " Let us go to Gilgal, where 
Joshua encamped long ago when our fathers crossed the Jordan ; and 
there let us set up the kingdom again." 

They came to Gilgal, and offered sacrifices to the Lord and 
worshipped. There Samuel gave up to the new king the rule over 
the land and spoke words of farewell. He said to the people : 

"I have done as you asked me, and have given you a king. 
Your king stands before you now. I am old and gray-headed, and 
I have lived before you from my youth up to this day. Here I am ; 
now, in the presence of the Lord and of his anointed king, is there 
any man whom I have wronged? Have I taken any man's ox or 
ass ? Have I taken a present from any man to make me favor him 
as judge? If I have robbed any man, let him speak, and I will pay 
him all that I have taken." 

And all the people said to Samuel, " You have ruled justly, and 
have wronged no man, and have robbed no man." 

And Samuel said, ''The Lord is witness, and his anointed, the 
king, is witness, that I have taken nothing from any man." 

And all the people said, " He is witness." 

Then Samuel called to their minds all that God had done for 
his people since he had led them out of Egypt ; how he had saved 
them from their enemies, and had given them judges. And he said, 
" Now the Lord has set a king over you. If you will fear the Lord, 
and will serve him, then it shall be well with you. But if you dis- 
obey the Lord, then God will punish you, as he punished your 
fathers." 

Then Samuel called upon God, and God sent thunder and rain 
on that day, showing his power. The people were filled with fear, 
and they cried to Samuel, " Pray to the Lord for us, for we have done 
wrong in asking for a king. ' ' 

"Yes," said Samuel, "you have done wrong; but if you from 
this time do right, and seek the Lord, God will not forsake you. He 
will forgive you and bless you. I will always pray for you, and will 
teach you the right way. But if you do evil, God will destroy you 
and your king. So fear the Lord, and serve him in truth with all 
your heart." 

After this Samuel went again to his own house at Ramah, and 
Saul ruled the people from Gibeah, the home of his family. 



Story Ctrxx 
THE BRAVE YOUNG PRINCE. 

I Samuel xiii : i, to xiv:46. 




HE people had hoped that when they should have a 
king to lead them in war they might break the power 
of the Philistines, who were still rulers over a large 
part of the land. But after Saul had been king two 
years the Philistines seemed to be stronger than ever. 
They held many walled towns on the hills, and from these their 
warriors went out robbing the villages and taking away the crops 
from the farmers, so that the men of Israel were kept very poor and 
and in great fear. 

The Philistines would not allow the Israelites to do any work 
in iron, in order to keep them from making swords and spears for 
themselves. When a man wished to have his iron plowshare sharp- 
ened or to have a new one made, he must go to the Philistines for 
the work. So when Saul gathered an army, scarcely any of the 
men could find swords or spears, and Saul and his son Jonathan 
were the only ones who wore suits of armor to protect them from 
the darts of the enemy. 

Saul gathered together a little army, of which a part was with 
him at Michmash, and another part with his son Jonathan at Gibeah, 
five miles to the south. Jonathan, who was a very brave young 
man, led his band against the Philistines at Geba, halfway between 
Gibeah and Michmash, and took that place from them. The news 
of this fight went through the land, and the Philistines came up the 
mountains with a great army, having chariots and horsemen. Saul 
blew a trumpet and called the Israelites to the old camp at Gilgal, 
down in the valley of the Jordan ; and many came, but they came 
trembling with fear of the Philistines. 

Samuel had told him not to march from Gilgal until he should 
come to offer a sacrifice and to call upon God. But Samuel delayed 
coming, and Saul grew impatient, for he saw his men scattering. 

(270) 



Saul Disobeys God 



271 



At last Saul could wait no longer. He offered a sacrifice himself, 
though he was no priest. But while the offering was still burning 
on the altar Samuel came. He said to Saul, "What is this that 
you have done ? " 

And Saul answered, "I saw that my men were scattering, and 
I feared that the enemy might come down upon me, so I offered the 
sacrifice myself, since you were not here." 

"You have done wrong," said Samuel. "You have not kept 
God's commands. If you had obeyed and trusted the Lord, he 




YOU HAVE NOT KEPT GOD S COMMAND. 



would have kept you in safety. But now God will find some 
other man who will do his will, a man after his own heart, and 
God will in his own time take the kingdom from you and give it 
to him." 

And Samuel left the camp and went away, leaving Saul. Saul 
led his men, only six hundred, up the mountains to Geba, the place 
which Jonathan had taken. Across the valley near Michmash was 
the host of the Philistines in plain sight. One morning Jonathan 



2 72 The Brave Young Prince 

and the young man who waited on him went down the hill toward 
the camp of the Philistines. This servant of Jonathan was called 
his armor-bearer, because he carried Jonathan's shield, and sword, 
and spear, to have them ready when needed. 

Jonathan could see the Philistines just across the valley. He 
said, "If the Philistines say to us, 'Come over,' we will go and 
fight them, even though we two are alone, for we will take it as a sign 
that God will help us." 

The Philistines saw the two Israelites standing on a rock" across 
the valley, and they called to them, "Come over here, and we will 
show you something." 

Then Jonathan said to his armor-bearer, "Come on, for the 
Lord has given them into our hand." 

Then they crossed the valley and came suddenly up to the 
Philistines, and struck them down right and left, without giving 
them a moment. Some fell down, but others ran away, and soon, 
as their fellow-soldiers saw them running, they, too, became fright- 
ened, and everybody began to run to and fro. Some fought the 
men who were running away, and before many minutes the Israelites 
on the hill across the valley could see the Philistines fighting and 
killing each other, the men running in every direction and their 
army melting away. 

Then Saul and his men came across the valley and joined in 
the fight ; and other Israelites who were in the camp of the Philis- 
tines, and under their control, rose against them; and the tribes 
near at hand came forth and pursued them as they fled. So on 
that day a great victory was won over the Philistines. 

But a great mistake was made by King Saul on the day of 
the victory. He feared that his men would turn aside from fol- 
lowing the Philistines to seize the spoil in their camp, and when 
the battle began King Saul said, " Let the curse of God light on 
any man who takes food until the evening. Whoever takes any 
food before the sun goes down shall die, so that there may be no 
delay in destroying our enemies. 

So on that day no man ate any food until it was evening, and 
they were faint and feeble from hunger. They were so worn out 
that they could not chase the Philistines further, and many of the 
Philistines escaped. That afternoon, as they were driving the 
Philistines through a forest, they found honey on the trees ; but no 



Saul's Great Mistake 273 

man tasted it, because of Saul's oath before the Lord, that whoever 
took a mouthful of food should be put to death." 

But Jonathan had not heard of his father's command. He 
took some honey and was made stronger by it. They said to 
Jonathan, "Your father commanded all the people not to take 
any food until the sun goes down, saying 'May the curse of God 
come upon any one who eats anything until the evening. ' ' ' When 
Jonathan heard of his father's word, he said, "My father has 
given us all great trouble ; for if the men could have taken some 
food they would have been stronger to fight and to kill their 
enemies." 

On that night Saul found that Jonathan had broken his com- 
mand, though he knew it not at the time. He said, " I have taken 
an oath before the Lord, and now, Jonathan, you must die, though 
you are my own son." 

But the people would not allow Jonathan to be put to death, 
e\ r en to keep Saul's oath. They said, " Shall Jonathan die, after he 
has done such a great deed, and won the victory, and saved the 
people? Not a hair of his head shall fall, for he has done God's 
work this day ! " 

And they rescued Jonathan from the hand of the king and set 
him free. A great victory had been won, but Saul had already 
shown that he was not fit to rule, because he was too hasty in his 
acts and his words, and because he was not careful to obey God's 
command. 

The Philistines after this battle stayed for a time in their 
own land beside the Great Sea, and did not trouble the Israelites 
upon the mountains. 



18 



Story Cfyree. 



SAUL'S GREAT SIN AND HIS GREAT LOSS. 

I Samuel xv : i to 35. 




FTER the great victory over the Philistines, Saul led 
his men against the enemies of Israel on every side 
of the land. He drove back the Moabites to their 
country east of the Dead Sea, and the Ammonites to 
the desert regions across the Jordan. He fought 
the Edomites on the south and the kings of Zobah in the far 
north. For a time the land of Israel was free from its oppressors. 
On the south of the land, in the desert where the Israelites had 
journeyed for forty years, were living the wild and wandering 
Amalekites, a people who had sought to harm the Israelites soon 
after they came out of Egypt, and had killed many of their people 
when they were helpless on their journey. (See Part First, Story 
Twenty-five.) For this God had said that Israel should have war 
against the Amalekites until they were destroyed. 

The time had now come for God's word against the Amalekites 
to be fulfilled, and Samuel said to Saul, "Thus says the Lord, the 
God of hosts, go down and make war against the Amalekites, and 
destroy them utterly." 

Then Saul called out the men of war in all the tribes, and they 
marched southward into the desert where many years before their 
fathers had lived for forty years. There Saul made war on the 
Amalekites, and took their city and destroyed it. But he did not 
do what God had commanded him. He brought Agag, the king 
of the Amalekites, and many of his people as prisoners, and a great 
train of their sheep and oxen, intending to keep them. 

Then the word of the Lord came to Samuel, saying, " It would 
have been better never to have chosen Saul as king, for he does not 
obey my commands." 

All that night Samuel prayed to the Lord, and the next day 
he went to meet Saul. When Saul saw him, he said, "May the 

(274) 



Saul's Excuse for Disobeying God 



275 



blessing of the Lord be upon you. I have done what the Lord 
commanded me to do." 

Then said Samuel, " If you have obeyed God's command and 
destroyed all 
the Amalekites 
and all that 
they possessed, 
what is the 
meaning of this 
bleating of the 
sheep and the 
bellowing of 
the oxen which 
1 hear?" 

" They have 
bought them 
from the Am- 
alekites," an- 
swered Saul, 
"for the people 
spared the best 
of the sheep 
and of the 
oxen, to offer 
in sacrifice to 
the Lord your 
God. All the 
rest we have 
utterly de- 
stroyed." This 
he said to ex- 
cuse his wrong- 
doing and to 
put the blame for his disobedience to God's command on the people. 

Then Samuel said, "I will tell you what God said to me last 
night. When you were humble in your own sight, God chose you 
to be king over Israel. He sent you on a long journey to the 
southward into the desert and said to you, ' Go and utterly de- 
stroy the Amalekites and leave nothing of them.' Why did you 




SAMUEL TURNS AWAY FROM SA U 



2 7 6 SauPs Great Sin and His Great Loss. 

not obey God's word but did seize their oxen and sheep and save 
many of their people alive, disobeying God's voice?" 

And Saul said, "I have done as God commanded, and have 
destroyed the Amalekites. But the people took some things that 
should have been destroyed, to offer in sacrifice to the Lord." 

And Samuel said, "Is the Lord as well pleased with offerings 
as he is with obeying his words? To obey is better than sacrifice, 
and to listen to God's word is more precious than to place offerings 
on his altar. To disobey God's word is as evil as to worship idols. 
You have refused to obey the voice of the Lord, and the Lord 
will take away your kingdom from you." 

Saul saw now how great was the harm that he had done, and 
he said, "I have sinned in not obeying God's word; but I v/as 
afraid of the people, and yielded to them. Now forgive my sin. 
Come with me, and I will worship the Lord." 

" No," said Samuel, " I will not go with you, for God will refuse 
you as king." 

As Samuel turned away, Saul took hold of his garment, and it 
tore in his hand. And Samuel said, "Even so has God torn the 
kingdom away from you ; and he will give it to a man that is better 
than you are. And God is not like a man, to say one thing and do 
another. What God has said shall surely come to pass." 

Saul begged Samuel so hard not to leave him, but to give him 
honor in presence of the people, that Samuel went with Saul, and 
Saul worshipped the Lord with Samuel. 

After this Samuel went to his house at Ramah, and he never 
again met Saul as long as he lived; but he mourned and wept for 
Saul, because he had disobeyed the Lord, and the Lord had rejected 
him as king. 



Story 5 our - 



THE SHEPHERD BOY OF BETHLEHEM. 

i Samuel xvi : i to 23. 




HEN Samuel told Saul that the Lord would take 
away the kingdom from him, he did not mean that 
Saul should Jose the kingdom at once. He was no 
longer God's king; and as soon as the right man in 
God's sight should be found, and should be trained 
for his duty as king, then God would take away Saul's power, and 
would give it to the man whom God had chosen. But it was many 
years before all this came to pass. 

Samuel, who had helped in choosing Saul as king, still loved 
him, and he felt very sorry to find Saul disobeying God's com- 
mands. He wept much, and mourned for Saul. But the Lord 
said to Samuel: 

"Do not weep and mourn any longer over Saul, for I have 
refused him as king. Fill the horn with oil, and go to Bethlehem 
in Judah. There find a man named Jesse, for I have chosen a king 
among his sons." 

But Samuel knew that Saul would be very angry, if he should 
learn that Samuel had named any other man as king in his place. 
He said to the Lord, " How can I go? If Saul hears of it, he will kill 
me." 

Then the Lord said to Samuel, "Take a young cow with you; 
and tell the people that you have come to make an offering to the 
Lord. And call Jesse and his sons to the sacrifice. I will tell you 
what to do; and you shall anoint the one whom I name to you." 

Samuel went over the mountains southward from Ramah to 
Bethlehem, about ten miles, leading a cow. The rulers of the town 
were alarmed at his coming, for they feared that he had come to 
judge the people for some evil-doing. But Samuel said, "I have 
come in peace to make an offering and to hold a feast to the Lord. 
Make yourselves ready and come to the sacrifice." 

(277) 



278 



The Shepherd Boy of Bethlehem 



And he invited Jesse and his sons to the service. When 
they had made themselves ready they came before Samuel. He 
looked at the sons of Jesse very closely. The oldest was named 




THE BOY DAVID MEETING THE LION. 



Eliab ; and he was so tall and noble-looking that Samuel thought ; 

"Surely this young man must be the one whom God has 
chosen." But the Lord said to Samuel: 

" Do not look on his face, nor on the height of his body; for I 



The Oil Poured on a Boy's Head 279 

have not chosen him. Man judges by the outward looks, but God 
looks at the heart." 

Then Jesse's second son, named Shammah, passed by. And 
the Lord said, "I have not chosen this one." Seven young men 
came, and Samuel said: 

" None of these is the man whom God has chosen. Are these 
all your children ? ' ' 

"There is one more," said Jesse. "The youngest of all. He 
is a boy in the field caring for the sheep. ' ' 

And Samuel said: 

"Send for him; for we will not sit down until he comes." So 
after a time the youngest son was brought in. His name was David, 
a word that means "darling," and he was a beautiful boy, perhaps 
fifteen years old, with fresh cheeks and bright eyes. 

As soon as the young David came, the Lord said to Samuel : 

"Arise; anoint him, for this is the one whom I have chosen." 

Then Samuel poured oil on David's head, in the presence of 
all his brothers. But no one knew at that time the anointing to 
mean that David was to be the king. Perhaps they thought that 
David was chosen to be a prophet like Samuel. 

From that time the Spirit of the Lord came upon David ; and 
he began to show signs of coming greatness. He went back to his 
sheep on the hillsides around Bethlehem, but God was with him. 
David grew up strong and brave ; not afraid of the wild beasts which 
prowled around and tried to carry away his sheep. More than once 
he fought with lions and bears, and killed them, when they seized 
the lambs of his flock. And David, alone all day, practised throw- 
ing stones in a sling, until he could strike exactly the place for which 
he aimed. When he swung his sling, he knew that the stone would 
go to the very spot at which he was throwing it. 

And, young as he was, David thought of God, and prayed to 
God. And God talked with David, and showed to David his will. 
And David was more than a shepherd and a fighter of wild beasts. 
He played upon the harp, and made music, and sang songs about 
the goodness of God to his people. 

One of these songs of David we have all heard, and perhaps 
know so well that we can repeat it. It is called "The Shepherd 
Psalm," and begins with the words: 



280 The Shepherd Boy of Bethlehem 

" The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want. 
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: 
He leadeth me beside the still waters. 
He re^toreth my soul; 

He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. 
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death 
I will fear no evil; for thou art with me; 
Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me. 

Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies; 
Thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. 
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: 
And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever." 




DAVID PLAYS BEFORE SAUL. 



Some think that David made this Psalm, while he was himself 
a shepherd, tending his flock. But it seems rather like the thoughts 
of a man than of a boy ; and it is more likely that long after those 
days, when David was a king, and remembered his youth, and his 
flock in the fields, that he saw how God had led him, just as he had 
led his sheep ; and then he wrote this Psalm. 

But while the Spirit of God came to David among his sheep, 



David Plays Before Saul 281 

that Spirit left King Saul, because he no longer obeyed God's words. 
Then Saul became very unhappy, and gloomy in his feelings. There 
were times when he seemed to lose his mind, and a madness would 
come upon him; and at almost all times Saul was sad and full of 
trouble, because he was no more at peace with God. 

The servants around Saul noticed that when some one played 
on the harp and sang, Saul's gloom and trouble passed away, and 
he became cheerful. At one time Saul said : 

" Find some one who can play well, and bring him to me. Let 
me listen to music ; for it drives away my sadness." 

One of the young men said: 

"I have seen a young man, a son of Jesse in Bethlehem, who 
can play well. He is handsome in his looks, and agreeable in talking. 
Then I have heard that he is a brave young man, who can fight as 
well as he can play; and the Lord is with him." 

Then Saul sent a message to Jesse, David's father. He said : 

"Send me your son David, who is with the sheep. Let him 
come and play before me." 

Then David came to Saul, bringing with him a present for the 
king from Jesse. When Saul saw him, he loved him, as did every- 
body who saw the young David. And David played on the harp, 
and sang before Saul. And David's music cheered Saul's heart, 
and drove away his sad feelings. 

Saul liked David so well that he made him his armor-bearer ; and 
David carried the shield and spear and sword for Saul when the 
king was before his army. But Saul did not know that David had 
been anointed by Samuel. If he had known it, he would have been 
very jealous of David. 

After a time Saul seemed well, and David left him, to be a 
shepherd once more at Bethlehem. 



Story $\ve. 

THE SHEPHERD BOY'S FIGHT WITH THE 

GIANT. 

i Samuel xvii : i to 54. 




LL through the reign of Saul there was constant war 
with the Philistines, who lived upon the lowlands 
west of Israel. At one time, when David was still 
with his sheep, a few years after he had been anointed 
by Samuel, the camp of the Philistines and the 
Israelites were set against each other on opposite sides of the valley 
of Elah ready to fight each other. In the army of Israel were the 
three oldest brothers of David, who were soldiers under King Saul. 

Every day a giant came out of the camp of the Philistines, and 
dared some one to come from the Israelites' camp and fight with 
him. The giant's name was Goliath. He was nine feet high; and 
he wore armor from head to foot, and carried a spear twice as long 
and as heavy as any other man could hold; and his shield-bearer 
walked before him. He came every day and called out across the 
little valley: 

" I am a Philistine, and you are servants of Saul. Now choose 
one of your men, and let him come out and fight with me. If I kill 
him, then you shall submit to us ; and if he kills me, then we will 
give up to you. Come, now, send out your man!" 

But no man in the army, not even King Saul, dared to go out 
and fight with the giant. The Israelites were mostly farmers and 
shepherds, and were not fond of war, as were the Philistines. Then, 
too, very few of the Israelites had swords and spears, except such 
rude weapons as they could make out of their farming tools. 
Forty days the camps stood against each other,, and the Philistine 
giant continued his call. 

One day old Jesse, the father of David, sent David from Bethle- 
hem to visit his three brothers in the army. David came, spoke 
to his brothers, and gave them a present from his father. While 

(282) 



David Offers to Fight the Giant 283 

he was talking with them, Goliath, the giant, came out as before in 
front of the camp, calling for some one to right with him. 

The Israelites said to one another, "If any man will go out 
and kill this Philistine, the king will give him a great reward and 
a high rank; and the king's daughter shall be his wife." 

And David said, "Who is this man that speaks in this proud 
manner against the armies of the living God? Why does not some 
one go out and kill him?" 

David's brother Eliab said to him, "What are you doing here, 
leaving your sheep in the field ? I know that you have come down 
just to see the battle." 

But David did not care for his brother's angry words. He 
was thinking out some way to kill this boasting giant. While all 
the men were in terror, this boy thought of a plan. He believed 
that he knew how to bring down the big warrior, with all his armor. 
Finally, David said: 

" If no one else will go, I will go out and fight with this enemy 
of the Lord's people." 

They brought David before King Saul. Some years had 
passed since Saul had met David, and he had grown from a boy to 
a man, so that Saul did not know him as the shepherd who had 
played on the harp before him in other days. 

Saul said to David, "You cannot fight with this giant. You 
are very young; and he is a man of war, trained from his youth." 

And David answered King Saul, " I am only a shepherd, but I 
have fought with lions and bears, when they have tried to steal my 
sheep. And I am not afraid to fight with this Philistine. The 
Lord saved me from the lion's jaw and the bear's paw, and he will 
save me from this enemy, for I shall fight for the Lord and his people. ' ' 

Then Saul put his own armor on David, a helmet on his head, 
and a coat of mail on his body, and a sword at his waist. But Saul 
was almost a giant, and his armor was far too large for David. 
David said: 

" I am not used to fighting with such weapons as these. Let 
me fight in my own way." 

So David took off Saul's armor; for David's plan to fight the 
giant did not need an armor, but did need a quick eye, a clear head, a 
sure aim, and a bold heart ; and all these David had, for God had 
given them to him. David's plan was very wise. It was to make 



284 Shepherd Boy's Fight with the Giant 

Goliath think that his enemy was too weak for him to be on his 
guard against him ; and while so far away that the giant could not 
reach him with sword or spear, to strike him down with a weapon 
which the giant would not expect, and would not be prepared for. 



J 




|J^ 



DAVID RUNNING TO MEET GOLIATH. 

David took his sheph- 
erd's staff in his hand, as though 
that were to be his weapon. But 
out of sight, in a bag under his 
mantle, he had five smooth 

stones carefully chosen, and a sling, — the weapon he knew how to 
use. Then he came out to meet the Philistine. The giant looked 
down on the youth and despised him, and laughed at him. 



The Giant Slain with His Own Sword 285 

"Am I a dog," he said, "that this boy comes to me with a 
staff ! I will give his body to the birds of the air and the beasts of 
the field." 

And the Philistine cursed David by the gods of his people. 
And David answered him: 

"You come against me with a sword and a spear and a dart; 
but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the 
armies of Israel. This day will the Lord give you into my hand; 
I will strike you down, and take off your head ; and the host of the 
Philistines shall be dead bodies, to be eaten by the birds and the 
beasts ; so that all may know that there is a God in Israel, and that 
he can save in other ways besides with sword and spear. • ' 

And David ran toward the Philistine, as if to fight him with 
his shepherd's staff. But when he was just near enough for a good 
aim he took out his sling, and hurled a stone aimed at the giant's 
forehead. David's aim was good, the stone struck the Philistine in 
his forehead. It stunned him, and he fell to the ground. 

While the two armies stood wondering, and scarcely knowing 
what had caused the giant to fall so suddenly, David ran for- 
ward, drew out the giant's own sword, and cut off his head. 

Then the Philistines knew that their great warrior in whom 
they trusted was dead. They turned to fly back to their own land ; 
and the Israelites followed after them, and killed them by the hun- 
dred and thousand, even to the gates of their own city of Gath. 

So in that day David won a great victory ; and stood before all 
the land as the one who had saved his people from their enemies. 



Story Six. 

THE LITTLE BOY LOOKING FOR THE 

ARROWS. 

I Samuel xvii : 55, to xx : 42. 




FTER David had slain the giant he was brought be- 
fore King Saul, still holding the giant's head. Saul 
did not remember in this bold fighting man the boy 
who a few years before had played in his presence. 
He took him into his own house, and made him an 
officer among his soldiers. David was as wise and as brave in the 
army as he had been when facing the giant, and very soon he 
was in command of a thousand men. All the men loved him, 
both in Saul's court and in his camp, for David had the spirit that 
drew all hearts toward him. 

When David was returning from his battle with the Philistines 
the women of Israel came to meet him out of the cities, with instru- 
ments of music, singing and dancing, and they sang: 

" Saul has slain his thousands, 
And David his ten thousands." 

This made Saul very angry, for he was jealous and suspicious 
in his spirit. He thought constantly of Samuel's words, that God 
would take the kingdom from him and would give it to one who 
was more worthy of it. He began to think that perhaps this young 
man, who had come in a single day to greatness before the people, 
might try to make himself king. 

His former feeling of unhappiness again came over Saul. He 
raved in his house, talking as a man talks who is crazed. By this 
time they all knew that David was a musician, and they called him 
again to play on his harp and to sing before the troubled king. But 
now, in his madness, Saul would not listen to David's voice. Twice 
he threw his spear at him ; but each time David leaped aside, and 
the spear went into the wall of the house. 

(286) 



Saul Seeks to Have David Slain 



287 



Saul was afraid of David, for he saw that the Lord was with 
David, as the Lord was no longer with himself. He would have 
zilled David, but did not dare to kill him, because everybody loved 
Oavid. Saul said to himself, "Though I cannot kill him myself, I 
rill have him killed by the Philistines." 

And he sent David out on dangerous errands of war ; but David 
•ame home in safety, all the greater and the more beloved after each 
ictory. Saul said, " I will give you my daughter Merab for your 
rife if you will fight the Philistines for me." 

David fought the Philistines; but when he came home from 




DAVID WITH THE GIANTS HEAD BROUGHT BEFORE SAUL. 



ae war he found that Merab, who had been promised to him, had 
een given as wife to another man. Saul had another daughter, 
amed Michal. She loved David, and showed her love for him. 
'hen Saul sent word to David, saying, " You shall have Michal, my 
aughter, for your wife when you have killed a hundred Philistines." 
Then David went out and fought the Philistines, and killed 
two hundred of them; and they brought the word to Saul. Then 
aul gave him his daughter Michal as his wife ; but he was all the 



288 The Little Boy Looking for the Arrows 



more afraid of David as he saw him growing in power and drawing 
nearer to the throne of the kingdom. 

But if Saul hated David, Saul's son, Jonathan, loved David 
with all his heart. . This was the brave young warrior of whom w^ 

read in Stow 

TWO Of tiixa 

Part, w u ~ 
with his 
mor-bea 
went o 
alone to fii 
the Phil: 
tine army. 
J o n a t h 
saw Da v. 
courage and 
nobility o f 
soul, and 
loved h^m 
with all his 
heart. H e 
took off his 
own royal 
robe, and his 
sword, and 
his bow, and 
gave them 
all to David. 
It grieved 
Jonathan 
greatly that 
his father, 
Saul, was so 
jealous of 
David. He 
spoke to his father, and said : " Let not the king do harm to David ; 
for David has been faithful to the king, and he has done great 
things for the kingdom. He took his life in his hand, and killed 
the Philistine, and won a great victory for the Lord and for the 
people. Why should you seek to kill an innocent man?" 




SAUL THROWS HIS SPEAR AT DAVID. 



Saul Sends for David 



289 



For the time Saul listened to Jonathan, and said, "As the Lord 
lives, David shall not be put to death." 

And again David sat at the king's table, among the princes ; and 
when Saul was troubled again David played on his harp and sang 
before him. But once more Saul's jealous anger arose, and he 




THE WOMEN MEETING DAVID WITH DANCING AND SINGING. 



He 



threw his spear at David. David was watchful and quick, 
leaped aside, and, as before, the spear fastened into the wall. 

Saul sent men to David's house to seize him; but Michal, 
Saul's daughter, who was David's wife, let David down out of the 
window, so that he escaped. She placed an image on David's bed 



2 9o The Little Boy Looking for the Arrows 

and covered it with the bed-clothes. When the men came, she 
said, " David is ill ir the bed, and cannot go." 

They brought the word to Saul, and he said, " Bring him to me 
in the bed, just as he is." 

When the image was found in David's bed, David was in a safe 
place, far away. David went to Samuel at Ramah, and stayed 
with him among the men who were prophets worshipping God and 
singing and speaking God's word. Saul heard that David was 
there, and sent men to take him. But when these men came 
and saw Samuel and the prophets praising God and praying, the 
same spirit came on them, and they began to praise and to pray. 
Saul sent other men, but these also, when they came among the 
prophets, felt the same power, and joined in the worship. 

Finally, Saul said, "If no other man will bring David to me, 
I will go myself and take him." 

And Saul went to Ramah ; but when he came near to the com- 
pany of the worshippers, praising God, and praying, and preaching, 
the same spirit came on Saul. He, too, began to join in the songs 
and the prayers, and stayed there all that day and that night, wor- 
shipping God very earnestly. When the next day he went again to 
his home in Gibeah, his feeling was changed for the time, and he 
was again friendly to David. 

But David knew that Saul was at heart his bitter enemy and 
would kill him if he could as soon as his madness came upon him. 
He met Jonathan out in the field away from the place. Jonathan 
said to David: 

"Stay away from the king's table for a few days, and I will 
find out how he feels toward you, and will tell you. Perhaps even 
now my father may become your friend. But if he is to be your 
enemy, I know that the Lord is with you, and that Saul will not 
succeed against you. Promise me that as long as you live you will 
be kind to me, and not only to me while I live, but to my children 
after me." 

Jonathan believed, as many others believed, that David would 
yet become the king of Israel, and he was willing to give up to 
David his right to be king, such was his great love for him. That 
day a promise was made between Jonathan and David, that they 
and their children, and those who should come after them, should 
be friends forever. 



The Sign of the Arrows 



291 



Jonathan said to David, " I will find how my father feels toward 
you, and will bring you word. After three days I will be here with 
my bow and arrows, and I will send a little boy out near your place 
of hiding, and I will shoot three arrows. If I say to the boy, ' Run, 
find the arrows, they ^^^^^^^^^^^^ 
are on this side of 
you,' then you can 
come safely, for the 
king will not harm 




JONATHAN SHOOTS THE ARROW. 



you. But if I call out to the boy, ' The arrows are away beyond 
you,' that will mean that there is danger, and you must hide 
from the king." 



2 92 The Little Boy Looking for the Arrows 

So David stayed away from Saul's table for two days. At first 
Saul said nothing of his absence, but at last he said: 

" Why has not the son of Jesse come to meals yesterday and 
to-day?" 

And Jonathan said, " David asked leave of me to go to his home 
at Bethlehem and visit his oldest brother." 

Then Saul .was very angry. He cried out, "You are a dis- 
obedient son ! Why have you chosen this enemy of mine as your 
best friend? Do you not know that as long as he is alive you can 
never be king? Send after him, and let him be brought to me, for 
he shall surely die!" 

Saul was so fierce in his anger that he threw his spear at his own 
son Jonathan. Jonathan rose up from the table, so anxious for his 
friend David that he could eat nothing. The next day, at the hour 
agreed upon, Jonathan went out into the field with a little boy. 
He said to the boy, "Run out yonder, and be ready to find the 
arrows that I shoot." 

And as the boy was running Jonathan shot arrows beyond him, 
and he called out, "The arrows are away beyond you; run quickly 
and find them." 

The boy ran, and found the arrows, and brought them to Jona- 
than. He gave the bow and arrows to the boy, saying to him, " Take 
them back to the city. I will stay here a while." 

And as soon as the boy was out of sight David came from his 
hiding-place and ran to Jonathan. They fell into each other's arms 
and kissed each other again and again, and wept together. For 
David knew now that he must no longer hope to be safe in Saul's 
hands. He must leave home, and wife, and friends, and his father's 
house, and hide wherever he could from the hate of King Saul. 

Jonathan said to him, " Go in peace ; for we have sworn together 
saying, ' The Lord shall be between you and me, and between your 
children and my children forever." 

Then Jonathan went again to his father's palace, and David 
went out to find a hiding-place. 



Story Seven. 



WHERE DAVID FOUND THE GIANT'S 

SWORD. 

I Samuel xxi : i, to xxii : 23. 




'ROM his meeting with Jonathan, David went forth to 
be a wanderer, having no home as long as Saul lived. 
He went away so suddenly that he was without either 
bread to eat, or a sword for defence. On his way he 
called at a little city called Nob, where the Tabernacle 
was then standing, although the holy ark was still in another place 
by itself. (See Story Sixteen, Part Second.) The chief priest, 
Ahimelech, was surprised to see David coming alone. David said 
to him, " The king has sent me upon an errand of which no one is to 
be told, and my men are to meet me in a secret place. Can you 
give me a few loaves of bread? " 

"There is no bread here," said the priest, "except the holy 
bread from the table in the holy house. The priests have just taken 
it away to put new bread in its place." (For an account of the 
table and the bread, see Story Twenty-seven in Part First.) 

" Let me have that bread," said David, "for we are the Lord's, 
and are holy." 

So the priest gave David the holy bread, which was to be eaten 
by the priests alone. David said also, " Have you a spear, or a 
sword, which I can take with me? The king's errand was so sudden 
that I had no time to bring my weapons." 

"There is no sword here," said the priest, "except the sword 
of Goliath of Gath, whom you slew in the valley of Elah. It is 
wrapped in a cloth, in the closet with the priest's robe. If you wish 
that sword, you can have it." (See Story Five in this Part.) 

"There is no sword like that," said David; "give it to me." 
So David took the giant's sword, and five loaves of bread, and went 
away. But where should he go? Nowhere in Saul's kingdom 

(293) 



2 94 Where David Found the Giant's Sword 



would he be safe ; and he went down to live among his old enemies, 

the Philistines, on the plain. 

But the Philistines had not forgotten David, who had slain 

their great Goliath, and beaten them in many battles. They would 

have seized him and killed him ; but David acted as though he was 

crazy. Then the king of the Philistines said, "Let this poor crazy 

mango! We do not want him here." 

And David escaped from among them, and went to live in the 

wilderness of Judah. He found a great cave, called the cave of 

Adullam, and hid in 
it. Many people heard 
where he was, and 
from all parts of the 
land, especially from 
his own tribe of Judah, 
men who were not sat- 
isfied with the rule of 
King Saul, gathered 
around David. Soon 
he had a little army 
of four hundred men, 
who followed David as 
their captain. 

All of these men 
with David were good 
fighters, and some of 
them were very brave 
in battle. Three of 
these men at one time 
wrought a great deed 
for David. While 

David was in the great cave, with his men, the Philistines were 

holding the town of Bethlehem, which had been David's home. 

David said one day': "How I wish that I could have a drink of 

the water from the well that is beside the gate of Bethlehem!" 
This was the well from which he had drawn water and drank 

when a boy ; and it seemed to him that there was no water so 

good to his taste. 

Those three brave men went out together, walked to Bethle- 




DAVID TOOK THE GIANT S SWORD. 



The Priests Slain 



295 



hem, fought their way through the Philistines who were on guard, 
drew a vessel of water from the well, and then fought their way 
back through the enemies. 

But when they brought the water to David, he would not 
drink it. He said: 

"This water was bought by the blood of three brave men. I 
will not drink it ; but I will pour it out as an offering to the Lord, 
for it is sacred." So 
David poured out the 
water as a most pre- 
cious gift to the Lord. 
Saul soon heard that 
David, with a band of 
men, was hiding 
among the mountains 
of Judah. One day 
while Saul was sitting 
in Gibeah, out of doors 
under a tree, with his 
nobles around him, he 
said, " You are men of 
my own tribe of Ben- 
jamin, yet none of 
you will help me to 
find this son of Jesse, 
who has made an 
agreement with my 
own son against me, 
and who has gathered 
an army, and is wait- 
ing to rise against me. 
Is no one of you with me and against mine enemy?" 

One man, whose name was Doeg, an Edomite, said, "I was at 
the city of the priests some time ago, and saw the son of Jesse come 
to the chief priest, Ahimelech; and the priest gave him loaves of 
bread and a sword." "Send for Ahimelech and all the priests," 
commanded King Saul ; and they took all the priests as prisoners, 
eighty-five men in all, and brought them before King Saul. And 
Saul said to them, " Why have you priests joined with David, the 




THE WATER FROM THE WELL OF BETHLEHEM. 



296 Where David Found the Giant's Sword 

son of Jesse, to rebel against me, the king? You have given him 
bread, and a sword, and have shown yourselves his friends." 

Then Ahimelech, the priest, answered the king, " There is no 
one among all the king's servants as faithful as David; and he is 
the king's son-in-law, living in the palace, and sitting in the king's 
council. What wrong have I done in giving him bread? I knew 
nothing of any evil that he had wrought against the king." 

Then the king was very angry. He said, "You shall die, 
Ahimelech, and all your father's family, because you have helped 
this man, my enemy. You knew that he was hiding from me, and 
did not tell me of him." 

And the king ordered his guards to kill all the priests. But 
they would not obey him, for they felt that it was a dreadful deed 
to lay hands upon the priests of the Lord. This made Saul all the 
more furious, and he turned to Doeg, the Edomite, the man who 
had told of David's visit to the priest, and Saul said to Doeg, " You 
are the only one among my servants who is true to me. Do you 
kill these priests who have been unfaithful to their king." 

And Doeg, the Edomite, obeyed the king, and killed eighty-five 
men who wore the priestly garments. He went to the city of the 
priests, and killed all their wives and children, and burned the city. 

One priest alone escaped, a young man named Abiathar, the 
son of Ahimelech. He came to David with the terrible news, that 
Saul had slain all the priests, and he brought the high-priest's breast- 
plate and his robes. 

David said to him, " I saw this man Doeg, the Edomite, there 
on that day, and I knew that he would tell Saul. Without intending 
to do harm, I have caused the death of all your father's house. Stay 
with me, and fear not. I will care for your life with my own." 

Abiathar was now the high-priest, and he was with David, and 
not with Saul. All through the land went the news of Saul's dread- 
ful deed, and everywhere the people began to turn from Saul, and 
to look toward David as the only hope of the nation. 



Stor« €tgft. 



HOW DAVID SPARED SAUL'S LIFE. 

I Samuel xxiii : i, to xxvii : 12. 




FTER this David and his men hid in many places in the 
mountains of Judah, often hunted by Saul, but always 
escaping from him. At one time Jonathan, Saul's son, 
came to meet David in a forest, and said to him, " Fear 
not, for the Lord is with you ; and Saul, my father, 
shall not take you prisoner. You will yet be the king of Israel, and 
I shall stand next to you; and my father knows this." 

And Jonathan and David made again the promise to be true 
to each other, and to each other's children always. Then they 
parted ; and David never again saw his dear friend, Jonathan. 

At one time David was hiding with a few men in a great cave 
near the Dead Sea, at a place called En-gedi. They were far back 
in the darkness of the cave, when they saw Saul come into the cave 
alone, and lie down to sleep. David's men whispered to him, " Now 
is the time of which the Lord said, ' I will give your enemy into your 
hand, and you may do to him whatever you please.' " 

Then David went toward Saul very quietly with his sword in 
his hand. His men looked to see him kill Saul, but instead, he only 
cut off a part of Saul's long robe. His men were not pleased at this ; 
but David said to them, "May the Lord forbid that I should do 
harm to the man whom the Lord has anointed as king. ' ' 

And David would not allow his men to harm Saul. After a 
time Saul rose up from sleep and went out of the cave. David 
followed him at a distance, and called out to him, "My lord the 
king!" 

Saul looked around, and there stood David, bowing to him and 
holding up the piece of his royal robe. David said to Saul, "My 
lord, king, why do you listen to the words of men who tell you 
that David is trying to do you harm? This very day the Lord gave 
you into my hand in the cave, and some told me to kill you, but I 

(297) 



298 How David Spared SauPs Life 

said, * I will not do harm to my lord, for he is the Lord's anointed 
king.' See, my father, see the skirt of your robe. I cut it off to 
show you that I would do you no harm, though you are hunting 
after me to kill me. May the Lord judge between you and me, and 
may the Lord do justice for me upon you ; but my hand shall not 
touch you." 

When Saul heard these words his old love for David came back 
to him, and he cried out, " Is that your voice, my son David?" And 
Saul wept, and said, " You are a better man than I am, for you have 
done good to me, while I have been doing harm to you. May the 
Lord reward you for your kindness to me this day ! I know that it 
is God's will that you shall be king, and you will rule over this 
people. Now give to me your word, in the name of the Lord, that 
you will not destroy my family, but that you will spare their lives." 

And David gave his promise to Saul in the name of the Lord; 
and Saul led his men away from hunting David to his palace at 
Gibeah; but David kept still in his hiding-place, for he could not 
trust Saul's promises to spare his life. 

And it was not long before Saul was again seeking for David in 
the wilderness of Judah, with Abner, Saul's uncle, the commander 
of his army, and under him three thousand men. From his hiding- 
place in the mountains David looked down on the plain, and saw 
Saul's camp almost at his feet. That night David and Abishai, one 
of David's men, came down quietly and walked into the middle of 
Saul's camp, while all his guards were asleep. Saul himself was 
sleeping, with his spear standing in the ground at his head, and a 
bottle of water tied to it. 

Abishai, David's follower, knew that David would not kill King 
Saul, and he said to David, "God has given your enemy into your 
hand again. Let me strike him through to the ground at one stroke ; 
only once; I will not need to strike twice." 

But David said, " You shall not destroy him. Who can strike 
the anointed of the Lord without being guilty of a crime ? Let the 
Lord strike him, or let him die when God wills it, or let him fall in 
battle; but he shall not die by my hand. Let us take his spear and 
his water-bottle, and let us go." 

So David took Saul's spear and his bottle of water, and then 
David and Abishai walked out of the camp without awakening any 
one. In the morning David called out to Saul's men and to Abner, 



David Spares Saul a Second Time 299 



the chief of Saul's army, " Abner, where are you? Why do you not 
answer, Abner?" 

And Abner answered, "Who are you, calling to the camp?" 

Then David said, "Are you not a great man, Abner? Who is 
like you in all Israel? Why have you not kept your watch over the 
king? You 
deserve to be 
put to death 
for your neg- 
lect ! See, here 
is the king's 
spear and his 
bottle of 
water!" 

Saul knew 
David's voice, 
and he said, 
"Is that your 
voice, my son 
David?" 

And David 
answered, "It 
is my voice, 
my lord, O 
king. Why do 
you pursue 
me? What evil 
have I done ? 
May God deal 
with the men 
who have 
stirred you up 
against me. I 
am not worth 
all the trouble 

you are taking to hunt for me. The king of Israel is seeking for 
one who is as small as a flea or a little bird in the mountains ! ' ' 

Then Saul said, " I have done wrong ; come back, my son David, 
and I will no longer try to do harm to you, for you have spared my 




DAVID SPARES SAUL S LIFE. 



3oo The Last Days of King Saul 

life to-day!" David said, "Let one of the young men come and 
take the king's spear. As I have spared your life to-day, may 
the Lord spare mine." 

So David went his way, for he would not trust himself in Saul's 
hands, and Saul led his men back to his home at Gibeah. David 
now was leading quite an army and was a powerful ruler. He made 
an agreement with the king of the Philistines who lived at Gath, 
King Achish, and went down to the plain by the Great Sea, to live 
among the Philistines. And Achish gave him a city called Ziklag, 
on the south of the tribe-land of Judah. To this place David took 
his followers, and there he lived during the last year of Saul's reign. 



Story Hine, 



THE LAST DAYS OF KING SAUL. 

I Samuel xxviii : i, to xxxi : 13. 




NCE more the Philistines gathered together to make 
war on King Saul and the land of Israel. The king 
of the Philistines, Achish, sent for David, and said 
to him, "You and your men shall go with me in the 
army, and fight against the men of Israel." 
For David was now living in the Philistine country and under 
their rule. So David came from Ziklag, with all his six hun- 
dred men, and they stood among the armies of the Philistines. 
But when the lords of the Philistines saw David and his men, 
they said, "Why are these Israelites here? Is not this the man of 
whom they sang, 

4 Saul slew his thousands. 
But David his ten thousands.' 

Will not this man turn from us in the battle, and make his peace 



David Pursues the Robbers 



3 01 



with his king by fighting against us? This man shall not go with 
us to the war." 

Then Achish, the king of the Philistines, sent away David and 
his men, so that David was not compelled to fight against his own 
people. But when he came to his own city, Ziklag, he found it had 
been burned and destroyed ; and all the people in it, the wives and 
children of David's men, and David's own wives also, had been 
carried away by the Amalekites into the desert on the south. 

The Lord spoke to David through the high-priest, Abiathar, 




THE DEATH OF SAUL. 



saying, " Pursue these men, and you will overtake them, and take 
back all that they have carried away." 

So David followed the Amalekites into the wilderness. His 
march was so swift that a part of his men could not endure it, but 
stopped to rest at the brook Bezor, while four hundred men went on 
with David. He found the Amalekites in their camp, without 
guards, feasting upon the spoil that they had taken. And David 
and his men fell upon them suddenly and killed all of them, except 



302 The Last Days of King Saul 

four hundred men who escaped on camels far into the desert, where 
David could not follow them. And David took from these robbers 
all the women and children that they had carried away from Ziklag, 
and among them David's own two wives; also he took a great 
amount of treasure and of spoil, not only all that these men had 
found in Ziklag, but what they had taken in many other places. 

David divided all these things between himself and his men, 
giving as much to those who had stayed at the brook Bezor as to 
those who had fought with the Amalekites. This treasure taken 
from the Amalekites made David very rich; and from it he sent 
presents to many of his friends in the tribe of Judah. 

While David was pursuing his enemies in the south, the Philis- 
tines were gathering a great host in the middle of the land, on the 
plain of Esdraelon, at the foot of Mount Gilboa. Saul and his men 
were on the side of Mount Gilboa, near the same spring where 
Gideon's men drank, as we read in Story Ten in Part Second. But 
there was no one like Gideon now, to lead the men of Israel, for King 
Saul was old, and weakened by disease and trouble; Samuel had 
died many years before ; David was no longer by his side ; Saul had 
slain the priests, through whom in those times God spoke to men; 
and Saul was utterly alone, and knew not what to do, as he saw 
the mighty host of the Philistines on the plain. And the Lord had 
forsaken Saul, and would give him no word in his sore need. 

Saul heard that there was living at En-dor, on the north side 
of the Hill Moreh, not far from his camp, a woman who could call 
up the spirits of the dead. Whether she could really do this, or 
only pretended to do it, we do not know, for the Bible does not tell. 
But Saul was so anxious to have some message from the Lord, that 
at night he sought this woman. He took off his kingly robes and 
came dressed as a common man, and said to her, " Bring me up 
from the dead the spirit of a man whom I greatly long to meet." 

And the woman said, " What spirit shall I call up? " 

And Saul answered, "Bring me up the spirit of Samuel, the 
prophet." 

Then the woman called for the spirit of Samuel ; and whether 
spirits had ever arisen from the dead before or not, at that time the 
Lord allowed the spirit of Samuel to rise up from his place among 
the dead, to speak to King Saul. 

When the woman saw Samuel's spirit she was filled with fear. 



Saul and the Spirit of Samuel 



303 



She cried out, and Saul said to her, " Do not fear ; but tell me whom 
you see." 

For Saul himself could not see the spirit whom the woman saw. 
And she said, " I see one like a god rising up. He is an old man, 
covered with a 
long robe." 

Then out 
of the darkness 
a voice came 
from the spirit 
whom Saul's 
eyes could not 
see. "Why 
have you 
troubled me, 
and called me 
out of my 
rest?" 

And Saul 
answered Sam- 
uel, "I am in 
great distress, 
for the Philis- 
tines make 
war upon me, 
and God has 
forsaken me. 
He will not 
speak to me 
either by a 
prophet, or a 
priest, or in a 
dream. And I 
have called 

upon you that you may tell me what to do." And the spirit of 
Samuel said to Saul, " If the Lord has forsaken you and has become 
your enemy, why do you call upon me to help you? The Lord has 
dealt with you as I warned you that he would do. Because you 
would not obey the Lord, he has taken the kingdom away from 




SAUL ASKS THE WOMAN TO CALL UP SAMUEL, 



3°4 The Last Days of King Saul 

you and your house, and has given it to David. And the Lord will 
give Israel into the hands of the Philistines; and to-morrow you 
and your three sons shall be as I am, among the dead. ' ' And then 
the spirit of Samuel the prophet passed from sight. When Saul 
heard these words he fell down as one dead, for he was very weak, 
as he had taken no food all that day. The woman and Saul's ser- 
vants who were with him raised him up, and gave him food, and 
tried to speak to him words of cheer. Then Saul and his men went 
over the mountain to their camp. 

On the next day a great battle was fought on the side of Mount 
Gilboa. The Philistines did not wait for Saul's warriors to attack 
them. They climbed up the mountain, and fell upon the Israelites 
in their camp. Many of the men of Israel were slain in the fight, 
and many more fled away. Saul's three sons were killed, one of 
them, the brave and noble Jonathan. 

When Saul saw that the battle had gone against him, that his 
sons were slain, and that the enemies were pressing closely upon him, 
he called to his armor-bearer, and said, " Draw your sword and kill 
me ; it would be better for me to die by your hand than for the 
Philistines to come upon me and slaughter me." 

But the armor-bearer would not draw his sword upon his king, 
the Lord's anointed. Then Saul took his own sword and fell upon 
it, and killed himself among the bodies of his own men. 

On the next day the Philistines came to strip off the armor and 
carry away the weapons of those who had been slain. The crown 
of King Saul and the bracelet on his arm had been already carried 
away; but the Philistines took off his armor and sent it to the 
temple of their idol, Dagon ; and the body of Saul and those of his 
three sons they fastened to the wall of Beth-shan, a Canaanite city 
in the valley of the Jordan. 

You remember how Saul, in the beginning of his reign, had 
rescued the city of Jabesh-gilead from the Ammonites. (See Story 
One in this Part.) The men of Jabesh had not forgotten Saul's brave 
deed. When they heard what had been done with the body of Saul 
they rose up in the night and went down the mountains and walked 
across the Jordan, and came to Beth-shan. They took down from 
the wall the bodies of Saul and his sons, and carried them to Jabesh ; 
and that they might not be taken away again, they burned them 
and buried their ashes under a tree; and they mourned for Saul 



SauPs Long Reign 



305 



seven days. Thus came to an end the reign of Saul, which began 
well, but ended in failure and in ruin, because Saul forsook the 
Lord God of Israel. 

Saul had reigned forty years. At the beginning of his reign 
the Israelites were almost free from the Philistines, and for a time 
Saul seemed to have success in driving the Philistines out of the 
land. But after Saul forsook the Lord, and would no longer listen 
to Samuel, God's prophet, he became gloomy and full of fear, and 
lost his courage, so that the land fell again under the power of its 
enemies. David could have helped him, but he had driven David 
away; and there was no strong man to stand by Saul and win 
victories for him. So at the end, when Saul fell in battle, the 
yoke of the Philistines was on Israel heavier than at any time 
before. 




WOMEN GRINDING GRAIN IN BIBLE TIMES 



SO 



Story Cen. 
THE SHEPHERD BOY BECOMES A KING. 

II Samuel i : i, to iv : 12. 




*N the third day after the battle on Mount Gilboa, 
David was at his home in Ziklag, on the south of 
Judah, when a young man came into the town, run- 
ning, with garments torn and earth on his head, as 
was the manner of those in deep grief. He hastened 
to David, and fell down before him. And David said, to him, 
" From what place have you come? " 

And the young man said, "Out of the camp of Israel I have 
escaped." 

And David said to him, "What has taken place? Tell me 
quickly." 

Then the man answered, "The men of Israel have been beaten 
in the battle; very many of them are slain, and the rest have fled 
away. King Saul is dead, and so is Jonathan, his son." 

" How do you know that Saul and Jonathan are dead? " asked 
David. 

And the young man said, " I happened to be on Mount Gilboa 
in the battle ; and I saw Saul leaning upon his spear wounded, and 
near death, with his enemies close upon him. And he said to me, 
' Come to me, and kill me, for I am suffering great pain.' So I stood 
beside him and killed him, for I saw that he could not live. And I 
took the crown that was on his head, and the bracelet on his arm, 
and I have brought them to you, my lord David." 

Then David and all the men that were with him tore their 
clothes, and mourned, and wept, and took no food on that day, on 
account of Saul, and of Jonathan, and for the people of Israel who 
had fallen by the sword. 

And David said to the young man who had brought to him the 
news, " Who are you? To what people do you belong?" 

And he said, " I am no Israelite ; I am an Amalekite." 

(306) 



The Song of the Bow 3°7 

"How was it," said David to him, "that you were not afraid 
to slay the king of Israel, the anointed of the Lord ? You shall die 
for this deed." 

And David commanded one of his men to kill him, because he 
had said that he had slain the king. He may have told the truth, 
but it is more likely that he was not in the battle, and that after the 
fighting he came upon the field to rob the dead bodies, and that he 
brought a false story of having slain Saul, hoping to have a reward. 
But as David would not slay the anointed king, even though he 
were his enemy, he would not reward, but would rather punish the 
stranger who claimed to have slain him. 

And David wrote a song over the death of Saul and Jonathan 
He taught it to the people of Judah, and called it 

THE SONG OF THE BOW. 

Thy glory, O Israel, is slain upon thy high places! 

How are the mighty fallen! 

Tell it not in Gath. 

Publish it not in the streets of Ashkelon; 

Lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice, 

Lest the daughters of the heathen triumph. 

Ye mountains of Gilboa. 

Let there be no dew nor rain upon you neither fields of offerings: 

For there the shield of the mighty was cast away as a vile thing. 

The shield of Saul, not anointed with oil. 

From the blood of the slain, from the fat of the mighty, 

The bow of Jonathan turned not back, 

And the sword of Saul returned not empty. 

Saul and Jonathan were lovely and pleasant in their lives, 

And in their death they were not divided; 

They were swifter than eagles, 

They were stronger than lions. 

Ye daughthers of Israel, weep over Saul, 

Who clothed you in scarlet delicately, 

Who put ornaments of gold upon your apparel. 

Jonathan, slain upon thy high places! 

1 am distressed for thee, my brother Jonathan. 
Very pleasant hast thou been unto me; 

Thy love to me was wonderful, 
Passing the love of women. 
How are the mighty fallen, 
And the weapons of war perished!" 



308 The Shepherd Boy Becomes a King 

After this, at the command of the Lord, David and his men 
went up from Ziglag to Hebron, in the middle of the tribe-land of 
Judah. And the men of Judah met together at Hebron, and they 
made David king over their tribe. And David reigned in Hebron, 
over the tribe of Judah, for seven years. 

But Saul's uncle, Abner, who had been the chief over his house 
and over his army, was not willing to have the kingdom go out of 




HEBRON, WHERE DAVID WENT. 



the family of Saul. He made a son of Saul king over all the tribes 
in the north of the land. This king was called Ish-bosheth, a name 
which means "a worthless man." He was weak and helpless, 
except for the strong will and power of Abner, who had made him 
king. For six years seemingly under Ish-bosheth, but really under 
Abner, the form of a kingdom was kept up, while Ish-bosheth was 
living at Mahanaim, on the east of Jordan. 

Thus for a time there were two kingdoms in Israel, that of the 
north under Ish-bosheth, and that of the south under David. But 



The Rulers Come to David 309 

all the time David's kingdom was growing stronger, and Ish- 
bosheth's kingdom was growing weaker. 

After a time Abner was slain by one of David's men, and at 
once Ish-bosheth's power dropped away. Then two men of his 
army killed him, and cut off his head, and brought it to David. 
They looked for a reward, since Ish-bosheth had been king against 
David. But David said, "As the Lord lives, who has brought me 
out of trouble, I will give no reward to wicked men, who have slain 
a good man in his own house, and upon his own head. Take these 
two murderers away, and kill them!" 

So the two slayers of the weak king, Ish-bosheth, were punished 
with death, and the head of the slain man was buried with honor. 
David had not forgotten his promise to Saul to deal kindly with his 
children. 



Story (Eleven, 



THE SOUND IN THE TREE-TOPS, 

II Samuel v : i, to vii : 29. 




FTER David had reigned as king over the tribe of Judah 
for seven years, and when Saul's son, Ish-bosheth, was 
dead, all the men in Israel saw that David was the 
one man who was fit to be king over the land. So the 
rulers and elders of all the twelve tribes came to David 
in Hebron, and said to him, "We are all your brothers ; and in time 
past, when Saul was king, it was you who led the people; and the 
Lord said, ' David shall be the shepherd of my people, and shall be 
prince over Israel/ Now we are ready to make you king over all 
the land." 

Then David and the elders of Israel made an agreement 
together before the Lord in Hebron ; and they anointed David as 



3io 



The Sound in the Tree-tops 



king over all the twelve tribes of Israel, from Dan in the far north 
to Beersheba in the south. David was now thirty-seven years old, 
and he reigned over all Israel thirty -three years. 

He found the land in a helpless state, everywhere under the 
power of the Philistines, and with many of its cities still held by the 
Canaanite people. The city of Jerusalem, on Mount Zion, had been 
kept as a stronghold by a Canaanite tribe called the Jebusites, ever 
since the days of Joshua. David led his men of war against it, but 
the Jebusites, from their high walls and steep rocks, laughed at him. 
To mock King David, they placed on the top of the wall the 
blind and lame people, and they called aloud to David, " Even blind 
men and lame men can keep you out of our city." 

This made 
David very an- 
gry, and he said 
to his men, 
"Whoever first 
climbs up the 
wall, and strikes 
down the blind 
and the lame 
upon it, he shall 
be the chief cap- 
tain and general 
of the whole 
army. ' ' 

Then all the 
soldiers of David 

rushed against the wall, each striving to be first. The man who 
was able first to reach the enemies and strike them down was 
Joab, the son of David's sister Zeruiah ; and he became the com- 
mander of David's army, a place which he held as long as David 
lived. After the fortress on Mount Zion was taken from the 
Jebusites, David made it larger and stronger, and chose it for 
his royal house; and around it the city of Jerusalem grew up as 
the chief city in David's kingdom. 

The Philistines soon found that there was a new king in Israel, 
and a ruler very different from King Saul. They gathered their 
army and came against David. He met them in the valley of 




THE WALL OF JERUSALEM AS IT NOW IS. 



Bringing up the Ark of God 311 

Rephaim, a little to the south of Jerusalem, and won a great victory 
over them, and carried away from the field the images of their gods ; 
but that the Israelites might not be led to worship them, David 
burned them all with fire. 

A second time the Philistines came up and encamped in the 
valley of Rephaim. And when David asked of the Lord what he 
should do, the Lord said to him, "Do not go against them openly. 
Turn to one side, and be ready to come against them from under 
the mulberry-trees ; and wait there until you hear a sound overhead 
in the tops of the trees. When you hear that sound, it will be a 
sign that the Lord goes before you. Then march forth and fight 
the Philistines." 

And David did as the Lord commanded him ; and again a great 
victory was won over the Philistines. But David did not rest when 
he had driven the Philistines back to their own land. He marched 
with his men into the Philistines' country, and took their chief city, 
Gath, which was called "the mother city of the Philistines." He 
conquered all their land ; and ended the war of a hundred years by 
making all the Philistine plain subject to Israel. 

Now that the land was free, David thought that the time had 
come to bring the holy ark of the Lord out from its hiding-place, 
where it had remained all through the rule of Samuel and the reign 
of Saul. (See Story Sixteen in Part Second.) This was in Kirjath- 
jearim, called also Baale, a town on the northern border of Judah. 
David prepared for the ark a new Tabernacle on Mount Zion ; and 
with the chosen men of all the tribes, he went to bring up the ark 
to Mount Zion. 

They did not have the ark carried by the priests, as it had been 
taken from place to place in the earlier days ; but they stood it on 
a wagon, to be drawn by oxen, driven by the sons of the man in 
whose house the ark had been standing, though these men were not 
priests. And before the ark walked David and the men of Israel, 
making music upon all kinds of musical instruments. 

At one place the road was rough, and the oxen stumbled, and 
the ark almost fell from the wagon. Uzza, one of the men driving 
the oxen, took hold of the ark to steady it. God's law forbade any 
one except a priest from touching the ark, and God was displeased 
with Uzza for his carelessness ; and Uzza fell dead by the ark of the 
Lord. 



312 The Sound in the Tree-tops 

This death alarmed David and all the people. David was 
afraid to have the ark of God come into his city. He stopped the 
procession and placed the ark in the house near by of a man named 
Obed-edom. There it stayed three months. They were afraid that 
it might bring harm to Obed-edom and his family; but instead it 
brought a blessing upon them all. 

When David heard of the blessings that had come to Obed- 
edom with the ark, he resolved to bring it into his own city on Mount 
Zion. This time the priests carried it as the law commanded, and 
sacrifices were offered upon the altar. They brought up the ark 
into its new home on Mount Zion, where a Tabernacle was standing 
ready to receive it. Then as of old the priests began to offer the 
daily sacrifices, and the services of worship were held, after having 
been neglected through so many years. 

David was now living in his palace on Mount Zion, and he 
thought of building a temple to take the place of the Tabernacle, 
for the ark and its services. He said to Nathan, who was a prophet, 
through whom the Lord spoke to the people, " See, now I live in a 
house of cedar ; but the ark of God stands within the curtains of a 
tent." 

" Go, do all that is in your heart, " answered Nathan the prophet, 
"for the Lord is with you." 

And that night the voice of the Lord came to Nathan, saying, 
"Go and tell my servant David, thus saith the Lord, 'Since the 
time when the children of Israel came out of Egypt, my ark has 
been in a tent; and I have never said to the people, build me a 
house of cedar. Say to my servant David, I took you from the 
sheep-pasture, where you were following the sheep, and I have' 
made you a prince over my people Israel, and I have given you a 
great name and great power. And now, because you have done 
my will, I will give you a house. Your son shall sit on the throne 
after you, and he shall build me a house and a Temple. And I will 
give you and your children and your descendants, those who shall 
come from you, a throne and a kingdom that shall last forever." 

This promise of God, that under David's line should rise a 
kingdom to last always, was fulfilled in Jesus Christ, who came long 
afterward from the family of David, and who reigns as King in 
heaven and in earth. 



Story Ctt>efoe. 



THE CRIPPLE AT THE KING'S TABLE. 

II Samuel viii : i, to ix : 13. 




S soon as the kings of the nations around Israel saw that 
a strong man was ruling over the tribes, they began 
to make war upon David, for they feared to see Israel 
gaining in power. So it came to pass that David had 
many wars. The Moabites, who lived on the east of 
the Dead Sea, went to war with David, but David conquered them, 
and made Moab submit to Israel. Far in the north, the Syrians 
came against David ; but he won great victories over them, and took 
Damascus, their chief city, and held it as a part of his kingdom. In 
the south, he made war upon the Edomites, and brought them under 
his rule. 

For a number of years David was constantly at war, but at last 
he was at peace, the ruler of all the lands from the great river 
Euphrates on the north, down to the wilderness on the south, 
where the Irsaelites had wandered; and from the great desert on 
the east to the Great Sea on the west. All these lands were under 
the rule of King David, except the people of Tyre and Sidon, who 
lived beside the Great Sea on the north of Israel. These people, 
the Tynans, never made war on Israel, and their king, Hiram, was 
one of David's best friends. The men of Tyre cut down cedar-trees 
on Mount Lebanon for David, and brought them to Jerusalem, and 
built for David the palace which became his home. 

When David's wars were over, and he was at rest, he thought 
of the promise that he had made to his friend Jonathan, the brave 
son of Saul (see Story Six in this Part), that he would care for his 
children. David asked of his nobles and the men at his court, "Are 
there any of Saul's family living, to whom I can show kindness for 
the . sake of Jonathan ? ' ' 

They told David of Saul's servant, Ziba, who had the charge 
of Saul's farm in the country; and David sent for him. Ziba had 

(313) 



3H 



The Cripple at the King's Table 



become a rich man from his care of the lands that had belonged to 
Saul. 

David said to Ziba, "Are there any of Saul's family living, to 
whom I can show some of the kindness which God has shown toward 



me: 



And Ziba said, " Saul's son Jonathan left a little boy, named 
Mephibosheth, who is now grown to be a man. He is living at 
Lo-debar, on the east of Jordan." 

This child of Jonathan was in the arms of his nurse when the 




MEPHIBOSHETH, JONATHAN S SON, BEFORE DAVID. 



news came of the battle at Mount Gilboa, where Jonathan was slain. 
The nurse fled with him, to hide from the Philistines, and in running- 
fell; and the child's feet vere so injured that ever after he was lame. 
Perhaps he was kept hidden in the distant place on the east of 
Jordan, from fear lest David, now that he was king, might try to 
kill all those who were of Saul's family ; for such deeds were common 
in those times, when one king took the power away from another 
king's children. 



Jonathan's Son in the Palace 315 

David sent for Mephibosheth, Jonathan's son; and he was 
brought into David's presence, and fell down on his face before the 
king, for he was in great fear. And David said to him, "Mephi- 
bosheth, you need have no fear. I will be kind to you, because I 
loved Jonathan, your father, and he loved me. You shall have all 
the lands that ever belonged to Saul and his family ; and you shall 
always sit at my table in the royal palace." 

Then the king called Ziba, who had been the servant of Saul, 
and said to him, "All the lands and houses that once belonged to 
Saul I have given to Mephibosheth. You shall care for them, and 
bring the harvests and the fruits of the fields to him. But Mephi- 
bosheth shall live here with me, and shall sit down at the king's table 
among the princes of the kingdom." 

So Mephibosheth, the lame son of Jonathan, was taken into 
David's palace, and sat at the king's table, among the highest in 
the land. And Ziba, with his fifteen sons and his twenty servants, 
waited on him, and stood at his command. 

This kindness of David to Mephibosheth might have brought 
trouble to David; for Mephibosheth the son of Jonathan, and the 
grandson of Saul, might have been the king if David had not won 
the crown. By giving to Saul's grandson a place at his table, and 
showing him honor, David might have helped him to take the 
kingdom away from himself, if Mephibosheth had been a stronger 
man, with a purpose to win the throne of Israel. But David was 
generous, and Mephibosheth was grateful, and was contented with 
his place in the palace. 



Story Cfytrteen. 



THE PROPHET'S STORY OF THE LITTLE 

LAMB. 

II Samuel xi : i to 25 ;. Psalm 51. 




>HEN David first became king he went with his army 
upon the wars against the enemies of Israel. But 
there came a time when the cares of his kingdom were 
many, and David left Joab, his general, to lead his 
warriors, while he stayed in his palace on Mount Zion. 
One evening, about sunset, David was walking upon the roof 
of his palace. He looked down into a garden near by, and saw a 
woman, who was very beautiful. David asked one of his servants 
who this woman was, and he said to him, " Her name is Bath-sheba, 
and she is the wife of Uriah." 

Now Uriah was an officer in David's army, under Joab ; and at 
that time he was fighting in David's war against the Ammonites, 
at Rabbah, near the desert, on the east of Jordan. David sent for 
Uriah's wife, Bath-sheba, and talked with her. . He loved her, 
and greatly longed to take her as one of his own wives, — for in those 
times it was not thought a sin for a man to have more than one wife. 
But David could not marry Bath-sheba while her husband, Uriah, 
was living. Then a wicked thought came into David's heart, and 
he formed a plan to have Uriah killed, so that he could then take 
Bath-sheba into his own house. 

David wrote a letter to Joab, the commander of his army. And 
in the letter he said, "When there is to be a fight with the Ammon- 
ites, send Uriah into the middle of it, where it will be the hottest; 
and manage to leave him there, so that he may be slain by the 
Ammonites." 

And Joab did as David had commanded him. He sent Uriah 
with some brave men to a place near the wall of the city, where he 
knew that the enemies would rush out of the city upon them ; there 

(3*6) 



David's Great Sin 



3*7 



was a fierce fight beside the wall; Uriah was slain, and other 
brave men with him. Then Joab sent a messenger to tell King 
David how the war was being carried on, and especially that Uriah, 
one of his brave officers, had been killed in the fighting. 

When David heard this, he said to the messenger, " Say to Joab, 
'Do not feel troubled at the loss of the men slain in battle, The 
sword must strike 
down some. Keep 
up the siege; press 
forward, and you 
will take the city." 

And after Bath- 
sheba had mourned 
over her husband's 
death for a time, 
then David took her 
into his palace, and 
she became his wife. 
And a little child 
was born to them, 
whom David loved 
greatly . Only Joab , 
and David, and per- 
haps a few others, 
knew that David had 
caused the death of 
Uriah; but God 
knew it, and God 
was displeased with 
David for this 
wicked deed. 

Then the Lord 
sent Nathan, the 
prophet, to David 

to tell him that, though men knew not that David had done 
wickedly, God had seen it, and would surely punish David for 
his sin. Nathan came to David, and he spoke to him thus : 

"There were two men in one city; one was rich, and the other 
poor. The rich man had great flocks of sheep and herds of cattle ; 




THE PROPHET NATHAN REPROVES DAVID. 



3*8 The Prophet's Story of the Little Lamb 

but the poor man had only one little lamb that he had bought. It 
grew up in his home with his children, and drank out of his cup, and 
lay upon his lap, and was like a little daughter to him. 

"One day a visitor came to the rich man's house to dinner. 
He did not take one of his own sheep to kill for his guest. He 
robbed the poor man of his lamb, and killed it, and cooked it for a 
meal with his friend." 

When David heard this, he was very angry. He said to Nathan, 
"The man who did this thing deserves to die! He shall give back 
to his poor neighbor fourfold for the lamb taken from him. How 
cruel to treat a poor man thus, without pity for him ! ' ' 

And Nathan said to David, "You are the man who has done 
this deed. The Lord made you king in place of Saul, and gave you 
a kingdom. You have a great house, and many wives. Why, then, 
have you done this wickedness in the sight of the Lord ? You have 
slain Uriah with the sword of the men of Ammon; and you have 
taken his wife to be your wife. For this there shall be a sword 
drawn against your house; you shall suffer for it, and your wives 
shall suffer, and your children shall suffer, because you have done 
this." 

When David heard all this, he saw, as he had not seen before, 
how great was his wickedness. He was exceedingly sorry, and said 
to Nathan, "I have sinned against the Lord." 

And David showed such sorrow for his sin that Nathan said to 
him, "The Lord has forgiven your sin; and you shall not die on 
account of it. But the child that Uriah's wife has given to you 
shall surely die." 

Soon after this the little child of David and Bath-sheba, whom 
David loved greatly, was taken very ill. David prayed to God for 
the child's life ; and David took no food, but lay in sorrow, with his 
face upon the floor of his house. The nobles of his palace came to 
him, and urged him to rise up and take food, but he would not. For 
seven days the child grew worse and worse, and David remained in 
sorrow. Then the child died; and the nobles were afraid to tell 
David, for they said to each other, "If he was in such grief while 
the child was living, what will he do when he hears that the child 
is dead?" 

But when King David saw the people whispering to one another 
with sad faces, he said, " Is the child dead?" 



David's Sin Forgiven 319 

And they said to him, " Yes, king, the child is dead." 

Then David rose up from the floor where he had been lying. 
He washed his face, and put on his kingly robes. He went first to 
the house of the Lord, and worshipped; then he came to his own 
house, and sat down to his table, and took food. His servants 
wondered at this, but David said to them, "While the child was 
still alive, I fasted, and prayed, and wept; for I hoped that by 
prayer to the Lord, and by the mercy of the Lord, his life might be 
spared. But now that he is dead, my prayers can do no more for 
him. I cannot bring him back again. He will not come back to 
me, but I shall go to him." 

And after this God gave to David and to Bath-sheba, his wife, 
another son, whom they named Solomon. The Lord loved Solomon, 
and he grew up to be a wise man. 

After God had forgiven David's great sin, David wrote the 
Fifty-first Psalm, in memory of his sin and of God's forgiveness. 
Some of its verses are these : 

Have mercy upon me. O God, according to thy loving kindness 
According to the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my trangressions 

Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity, 

And cleanse me from my sin. 

For I acknowledge my transgressions; 

And my sin is ever before me. 

Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, 

And done that which is evil in thy sight. 

Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; 
Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. 
********* 

Hide thy face from my sins, 

And blot out all my iniquities. 

Create in me a clean heart, O God, 

And renew a right spirit within me, 

Cast me not away from thy presence; 

And take not thy holy spirit from me, 

Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation: 

And uphold me with a free spirit. 

Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; 

And sinners shall be converted with thee. 
********* 

For thou de lightest not in sacrifice; else would I give it: 

Thou hast no pleasure in burnt- offering. 

The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; 

A broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou will not despise. 



Story fourteen. 



DAVID'S HANDSOME SON, AND HOW HE 
STOLE THE KINGDOM. 

II Samuel xiii : i, to xvii : 23. 




OT long after David's sin, the sorrows of which 
the prophet had foretold him, began to fall upon 
David. He had many wives, and his wives had 
many sons; but most of his sons had grown up 
wild and wicked, because David had not watched 
over them, and had not taught them in their youth to love God 
and do God's will. He had been too busy as a king to do his 
duty as a father. 

The oldest of David's sons was Absalom, whose mother was 
the daughter of Talmai, the king of a little country called Geshur, 
on the north of Israel. Absalom was said to be the most beautiful 
young man in all the land. He had long locks of hair, of which he 
was very proud, because all the people admired them. Absalom 
became very angry with Amnon, another of David's sons, because 
Amnon had done wrong to Absalom's sister, named Tamar. 

But Absalom hid his anger against Amnon, and one day invited 
Amnon with all the king's sons to a feast at his house in the country. 
They all went to the feast; and while they were all at the table 
Absalom's servants, by his orders, rushed in and killed Amnon. 
The other princes, the king's sons, were alarmed, fearing that they 
also would be slain ; and they ran away in haste. But no harm was 
done to the other princes, and they came back in safety to David. 

David was greatly displeased with Absalom, though he loved 
him more than any other of his sons ; and Absalom went away from 
his father's court to that of his grandfather, his mother's father, 
the king of Geshur. There Absalom stayed for three years; and 
all the time David longed to see him, for he felt that he had now lost 
both sons, Absalom as * well as Amnon. And after three years 

(3 20 ) 



Absalom's Wicked Purpose 



321 



David allowed Absalom to come back to Jerusalem ; but for a time 
would not meet him, because he had caused his brother's death. 
At last David's love was so strong that he could no longer refuse 
to see his son. He sent for Absalom, and kissed him, and took him 
back to his old place among the king's sons in the palace. 

But Absa- 
lom's heart was 
wicked, and un- 
grateful, and 
cruel. He 
formed a plan 
to take the 
throne and the 
kingdom away 
from his father, 
David, and to 
make himself 
King in David's 
place. He began 
byliving in great 
state, as if he 
were already a 
king, w i t h a 
royal chariot, 
and horses, and 
fifty men to run 
before him. 
Then too, he 
would rise early 
in the morning, 
and stand at the 
gate of the 
king's palace, 
and meet those 

who came to the king for any cause. He would speak to each man, 
and find what was the purpose of his coming ; and he would say : 

" Your cause is good and right, but the king will not hear you ; 
and he will not allow any other man to hear you in his place. O 
that I were made a judge! then I would see that right was done, 

21 




DAVID SENDS FOR ABSALOM AND KISSES HIM. 



322 How Absalom Stole the Kingdom 

and that every man received his due ! " And when any man bowed 
down before Absalom as the king's son, he would reach out his 
hand, and lift him up, and kiss him as his friend. Thus Absalom 
won the hearts of all whom he met, from every part of the land, 
until very many wished that he was king instead of David, his 
father. For David no longer led the army in war, nor did he sit 
as judge, nor did he go among the people; but lived apart in his 
palace, scarcely knowing what was being done in the land. 

After four years Absalom thought that he was strong enough 
to seize the kingdom. He said to David, "Let me go to the city 
of Hebron, and there worship the Lord, and keep a promise which 
I made to the Lord while I was in the land of Geshur." 

David was pleased at this, for he thought that Absalom really 
meant to serve the Lord. So Absalom went to Hebron, and with 
him went a great company of his friends. A few of these knew of 
Absalom's plans, but most of them knew nothing. At Hebron 
Absalom was joined by a very wise man, named Ahithopel, who 
was one of David's chief advisers, and in one whom David trusted 
fully. 

Suddenly the word was sent through all the land by swift 
runners, "Absalom has been made king at Hebron!" Those who 
were in the secret helped to lead others, and soon it seemed as 
though all the people were on Absalom's side and ready to receive 
him as king in place of David. 

The news came to David in the palace, that Absalom had made 
himself king, that many of the rulers were with him, and that the 
people in their hearts really desired Absalom. David did not know 
whom he could trust, and he prepared to escape before it would be 
too late. He took with him a few of his servants who chose to 
remain by his side, and his wives, and especially his wife Bath- 
jsheba, and her son, the little Solomon. 

As they were going out of the gates they were joined by Ittai, 
who was the commander of his guard, and who had with him six 
hundred trained men of war. Ittai was not an Israelite, but was a 
stranger in the land, and David was surprised that he should offer 
to go with him. He said to Ittai, " Why do you, a stranger, go with 
us? I know not to what places we may go or what trouble we may 
meet. It would be better for you and your men to go back to your 
own land; and may mercy and truth go with you!" 



David Leaves His Palace 



3*3 



And Ittai answered the king, "As the Lord God lives, and as 
my lord the king lives, surely in what place the king shall be, 
whether in death or in life, there will we, his servants, be with him." 

So Ittai and his brave six hundred soldiers went with David 
out of the city, over the brook Kedron, toward the wilderness. And 
soon after came Zadok and Abiathar, the priests, and the Levites, 
carrying the holy ark of the Lord. And David said, "Take back 
the ark of God into the city. If I shall 
find favor in the sight of the Lord, he will 
bring me again to see it ; but if the Lord 
says, 'I have no pleasure in David,' then 
let the Lord do with me as seems good to 
him." 




THE BROOK KEDRON. 



And David thought also that the priests might help him more 
in the city than if they should go away with him. He said to Zadok, 
"Do you go back to the city and watch; and send word to me by 
your son, Ahimaaz, and Jonathan, the son of Abiathar. I will wait 
at the crossing place of the river Jordan for news from you." 

So Zadok and Abiathar, the priests, carried the holy ark back 
to its Tabernacle on Mount Zion, and watched closely, that they 
might send David word of anything that would help his cause. 



324 How Absalom Stole the Kingdom 

David walked up the steep side of the Mount of Olives, on the east 
of Jerusalem, with his head covered and his feet bare, as one in 
mourning, weeping as he walked. And all the people who were 
with him, and those who saw him, were weeping in their sorrow 
over David's fall from his high place. 

On the top of the hill David found another man waiting to see 
him. It was Hushai, who was one of David's best friends. He 
stood there in sorrow, with his garments torn and earth upon his 
head, ready to go into the wilderness with David. But David said 
to Hushai, " If you go with us you cannot help me in any way; but 
if you stay in the city, and pretend to be Absalom's friend, then 
perhaps you can watch against the advice that the wise man, 
Ahithophel, gives to Absalom, and prevent Absalom from following 
it. Zadok and Abiathar, the priests, will help you, and through 
their sons, Ahimaaz and Jonathan, you can send word to me of all 
that you hear." 

A little past the top of the hill another man was waiting for 
David. It was Ziba, the servant of Mephibosheth. You remember 
how kindly David had treated Mephibosheth, because he was the 
son of David's dear friend, Jonathan. (See Story Twelve in this 
Part.) Ziba had by his side a couple of asses saddled, and on them 
two hundred loaves of bread, and a hundred clusters of raisins, and 
a quantity of fruit, and a goat-skin full of wine. David said to Ziba, 
" For what purpose are all these things here?" 

And Ziba said, " The asses are for the king ; and here is food for 
the journey, and wine for those who may grow faint and may need 
it in the wilderness." 

And David asked Ziba, " Where is Mephibosheth, your master? " 

1 ' He is in Jerusalem," said Ziba ; "for he says that the kingdom 
may be given back to him, as he is the heir of Saul's house." 

David felt very sad as he heard that Mephibosheth had for- 
saken him, and he said to Ziba, " Whatever has belonged to Mephi- 
bosheth shall be yours from this time." 

But David did not know that all Ziba's words were false, and 
that Mephibosheth had not forsaken him. This he learned after- 
ward, as we shall see. 

Soon after this another man came out to meet David, but in a 
very different spirit from Ittai, Hushai, and Ziba. This man was 
Shimei, and he belonged to the family of King Saul. As David and 



Absalom Comes to Jerusalem 325 

his party walked along the crest of the hill, Shimei walked over the 
hill on the other side of a narrow valley, and as he walked he threw 
stones at David, and cursed him, shouting, " Get out, get out, you 
man of blood, you wicked man! Now the Lord is bringing upon 
I you all the wrong that you did to Saul, when he was your king. 
You robbed Saul of his kingdom, and now your own son is robbing 
you. You are suffering just as you deserve, for you are a bloody 
man!" 

Then Abishai, the son of Zeruiah, who was one of David's men 
and David's own nephew, said, " Why should this dog be allowed 
to bark against my lord the king? Let me go across the valley, 
and I will strike off his head at one blow!" 

But David said, ''If it is the Lord's will that this man should 
curse David, then let him curse on. My own son is seeking to take 
away my life, and is it strange that this man of another tribe should 
hate me ? It may be that the Lord will look upon the wrong done 
to me, and will do good to me." 

So David and his wives, and his servants, and the soldiers who 
were faithful to him, went on toward the wilderness and the valley 
of the Jordan. Soon after David had escaped from the city, Absa- 
lom came into it with his friends and a host of his followers. As 
Absalom drew near, Hushai, David's friend, stood by the road, 
crying, " Long live the king! Long live the king!" 

And Absalom said to Hushai, "Is this the way you treat your 
friend? Why have you not stayed beside your friend David? " 

Hushai said to Absalom, "Whom the Lord and his people have 
chosen, him will I follow, and with him I will stay. As I have 
served the father, so will I serve the son." 

Then Hushai went into the palace among the followers of Absa- 
lom. And Absalom said to Ahithophel, " Tell me what to do next ? " 

Now Ahithophel was a very wise man. He knew what was best 
for Absalom's success, and he said, " Let me choose out twelve thou- 
sand men, and I will pursue David this very night. We will come 
upon David when he is tired, while only a few people are with him, 
and before he has time to form any plans or to gather an army, I 
will kill David, and will harm no one else ; and then you can reign 
as king in peace, and all the people will submit to you when they 
know that David is no longer living." 

Absalom thought that this was wise advice; but he sent for 



326 How Absalom Stole the Kingdom 

Hushai. He told him what Ahithophel had said, and asked for his 
advice also. And Hushai said, "The advice that Ahithophel gives 
is not good for the present time. Yon know that David and his 
men are very brave, and just now they are as savage as a bear 
robbed of her cubs. David is with his men in some safe place, ' 
hidden in a cave or among the mountains, and they will watch 
against those who come out to seek for them, and will rush upon 
them suddenly from their hiding-place. Then, as soon as the news 
goes through the land that Absalom's men have been beaten, 
everybody will turn away from Absalom to David. The better 
plan would be to wait until you can gather all the men of war in 
Israel, from Dan in the north to Beersheba in the south. And 
then, if David is in a city, there will be men enough to pull the 
city in pieces, or if he is in the field we will surround him on every 
side." And Absalom and the rulers who were with him said to each 
other, " The advice of Hushai is better than the advice of Ahithophel,, 
Let us do as Hushai tells us to do." 

So Absalom sat down in his father's palace and began to enjoy 
himself while they were gathering his army. This was just what 
Hushai wished, for it would give David time to gather his army also, 
and he knew that the hearts of the people would soon turn from 
Absalom back to David. 

Hushai told Zadok and Abiathar, the priests, of Absalom's 
plans, and they sent word by a young woman to their sons, Ahimaaz 
and Jonathan, who were watching outside the city, and these young 
men hastened to tell David, who was waiting beside the river Jordan. 
Then David and his men found a safe refuge in Mahanaim, in the 
tribe of Gad, across Jordan ; and there his friends from all the land 
began to come to him. 

When Ahithophel saw that his advice had not been taken, and 
that Hushai was preferred in his place, he knew at once that Absa- 
lom could not hold the kingdom, and that Absalom's cause was 
already as good as lost. He went to his home, put all his house and 
his affairs in order, and hanged himself ; for he thought that it was 
better to die by his own hand than to be put to death as a traitor by 
King David. 

Absalom for a little time had his wish. He sat on the throne, 
and wore the crown ? and lived in the palace at Jerusalem as the king 
of Israel. 



Story fifteen. 



ABSALOM IN THE WOOD: DAVID ON t 
THE THRONE. 

II Samuel xvii : 24, to xx : 26. 




HE land on the east of Jordan, where David found 
a refuge, was called Gilead, a word which, means 
"high," because it is higher than the land opposite 
on the west of Jordan. There, in the city of Mahanaim, 
the rulers and the people were friendly to David. 
They brought food of all kinds and drink for David and those who 
were with him; for they said, "The people are hungry, and thirsty, 
and very tired, from their long journey through the wilderness." 

And at this place David's friends gathered from all the tribes 
of Israel, until around him was an army. It was not so large as the 
army of Absalom, but in it were more of the brave old warriors who 
had fought under David in other years. David divided his army 
into three parts, and placed over the three parts Joab, his brother 
Abishai, and Ittai, who had followed him so faithfully. 

David said to the chiefs of his army and to his men, " I will go 
out with you into the battle." 

But the men said to David, " No, you must not go with us ; for 
if half of us should lose our lives, no one will care ; but you are worth' 
ten thousand of us, and your life is too precious. You must stay 
here in the city, and be ready to help us if we need help." 

So the king stood by the gate of Mahanaim while his men 
marched out by hundreds and by thousands. And as they went 
past the king the men heard him say to the three chiefs, Joab, and 
Abishai, and Ittai, "For my sake, deal gently with the young man, 
Absalom." 

Even to the last David loved the son who had done to him such 
great wrong, and David would have them spare his life. 

A great battle was fought on that day at a place called "The 

(327) 



328 



Absalom in the Wood 



Wood of Ephraim," though it was not in the tribe of Ephraim, but 
of Gad, on the east of the Jordan. Absalom's army was under the 
command of a man named Amasa, who was a cousin of Joab ; for his 
mother, Abigail, and Joab's mother, Zeruiah, were, both sisters of 
David. So both the armies were led by nephews of King David. 
Absalom himself went into the battle, riding upon a mule, as was 
the custom of kings. 




ABSALOM FLEEING THROUGH THE FOREST 



David's soldiers won a great victory, and killed thousands of 
Absalom's men. The armies were scattered in the woods, and many 
men were lost, so that it was said that the woods swallowed up more 
men than the sword. When Absalom saw that his cause was hope- 



The Death of Absalom 329 

less he rode away, hoping to escape. But as he was riding under 
the branches of an oak-tree, his head, with its great mass of long 
hair, was caught in the boughs of the tree. He struggled to free 
himself, but could not. His mule ran away, and Absalom was left 
hanging in the air by his head. 

One of David's soldiers saw him, and said to Joab, "I saw 
Absalom hanging in an oak." 

" Why did you not kill him? " asked Joab. " If you had killed 
him I would have given you ten pieces of silver and a girdle." 

"If you should offer me a thousand pieces of silver," answered 
the soldier, " I would not touch the king's son ; for I heard the king 
charge all the generals and the men, ' Let no one harm the young 
man Absalom.' And if I had slain him, you yourself would not 
have saved my life from the king's anger." 

"I cannot stay to talk with you," said Joab; and with three 
darts in his hand he hastened to the place where Absalom was 
hanging. He thrust Absalom's heart through with the darts, and 
after that his followers, finding that Absalom was still living, 
pierced his body until they were sure that he was dead. Then they 
took down his body, and threw it into a deep hole in the forest, and 
heaped a great pile of stones upon it. 

During his life Absalom had built for himself a monument in 
the valley of the Kidron, on the east of Jerusalem. There he had 
expected to be buried ; but though the monument stood long after- 
ward, and was called "Absalom's pillar," yet Absalom's body lay 
not there, but under a heap of stones in the wood of Ephraim. 

After the battle Ahimaaz, the son of the priest Zadok, came to 
Joab. Ahimaaz was one of the two young men who brought news 
from Jerusalem to David at the river Jordan, as we read in the last 
Story. He said to Joab, "Let me run to the king, and take to him 
the news of the battle." 

But Joab knew that the message of Absalom's death would not 
be pleasing to King David, and he said, " Some other time you shall 
bear news, but not to-day, because the king's son is dead." 

And Joab called a negro who was standing near, and said to him, 
"Go, and tell the king what you have seen." 

The negro bowed to Joab, and ran. But after a time Ahimaaz, 
the son of Zadok, again said to Joab, "Let me also run after the 
negro, and take news." 



33<> Absalom in the Wood 

"Why do you wish to go, my son?" said Joab; "the news will 
not bring you any reward." 

"Anyhow, let me go," said the young man ; and Joab gave him 
leave. Then Ahimaaz ran with all his might, and by a better road 
over the plain, though less direct than the road which the negro had 
taken over the mountains. Ahimaaz outran the negro, and came 
first in sight to the watchman who was standing on the wall, while 
King David was -waiting below in the little room between the outer 
and inner gates, anxious for news of the battle, but more anxious for 
his son, Absalom. 

The watchman on the wall called down to the king, and said, 
"I see a man running alone." 

And the king said, "If he is alone, he is bringing a message." 
He knew that if men were running away after a defeat in battle 
there would be a crowd together. Then the watchman called again, 
"I see another man running alone." 

And the king said, " He also is bringing some news." 

The watchman spoke again, "The first runner is coming near, 
and he runs like Ahimaaz, the son of Zadok." 

And David said, "He is a good man, and he comes with good 
news." Ahimaaz came near, and cried out as he ran, "All is well!" 

The first words which the king spoke were, " Is it well with the 
young man Absalom?" 

Ahimaaz was too wise to bring to the king the word of Absa- 
lom's death. He left that to the other messenger, and said, " When 
Joab sent me, there was a great noise over something that had taken 
place, but I did not stop to learn what it was." 

A little later came the negro, crying, "News for my lord the 
king ! This day the Lord has given you victory over your enemies !" 

And David said again, "Is it well with the young man Absa- 
lom?" 

Then the negro, who knew nothing of David's feeling, answered, 
" May all the enemies of my lord the king, and all that try to do him 
harm, be as that young man is!" 

Then the king was deeply moved. His sorrow over Absalom 
made him forget the victory that had been won. Slowly he walked 
up the steps to the room in the tower over the gate, and as he walked 
he said, "O my son Absalom! my son, my son Absalom! I wish 
before God that I had died for you, O Absalom, my son, my son!" 



Joab Speaks to David 



331 



The word soon went forth that the king, instead of rejoicing 
over the victory, was weeping over his son. The soldiers came 
stealing back to the city, not as conquerors, but as if they had been 
defeated. Every one felt sorry for the king, who sat in the room 
over the gate, with his face covered, and crying out, " O Absalom, 
my son! my son, my son Absalom!" 

But Joab saw that such great sorrow as the king showed was 
not good for his cause. He came to David, and said to him, "You 
have put to 
sham.e this day 
all those who 
have fought for 
you and saved 
your life. You 
have shown that 
you love those 
who hate you, 
and that you 
hate those who 
love you. You 
have said byyour 
actions that your 
princes and your 
servants, who 
have been true to 
you, are nothing 
to you ; and that 
if Absalom had 
lived and we had 
all died, you 
would have been 
better pleased. 
Now rise up, and 
act like a man, 
and show regard 

for those who have fought for you. I swear to you in the name of 
the Lord, that unless you do this, not a man will stay on your side, 
and that will be worse for you than all the harm that has ever 
come upon you in all your life before this day!" 




ABSALOM S PILLAR. 



332 Absalom in the Wood 

Then David rose up, and washed away his tears, and put on his 
robes, and took his seat in the gate as a king. After this he came 
from Mahanaim to the river Jordan, and there all the people met 
him, to bring him back to his throne in Jerusalem. 

Among the first to come was Shimei, the man who had cursed 
David and thrown stones at him as he was flying from Absalom. 
He fell on his face, and confessed his crime, and begged for mercy. 
Abishai, Joab's brother, said, "Shall not Shimei be put to death, 
because he cursed the king, the Lord's anointed? " 

But David said, " Not a man shall be put to death this day in 
Israel, for to-day I am king once more over Israel. You shall not 
be slain, Shimei; I pledge you the word of a king." 

And Ziba, the servant of Mephibosheth, was there with his sons 
and his followers ; and Mephibosheth was there also to meet the king. 
And Mephibsheth had not dressed his lame feet, nor trimmed his 
beard, nor washed his clothes, from the day when David had left 
Jerusalem until the day when he returned in peace. And David 
said to him, " Mephibosheth, why did you not offer to go with me? " 

"My lord, O king," said Mephibosheth, "my servant deceived 
me. He said, 'You are lame, and cannot go; but I will go in your 
name with the king, and will help him.' And he has done me wrong 
with the king ; but what matters it all, now that the king has come 
again?" 

David said, "You and Ziba may divide the land and the 
property." 

And Mephibosheth said, "Let him have it all, now that the 
king has come in peace to his own house ! " 

The army of Absalom had melted away, and was scattered 
throughout all Israel. David was still displeased with Joab, the 
chief of his army, because he had slain Absalom, contrary to David's 
orders. He sent a message to Amasa, who had been the com- 
mander of Absalom's army, and who was, like Joab and Abishai, 
David's own nephew. He said to Amasa, "You are of my own 
family, of my bone and my flesh, and you shall be the general in 
place of Joab." 

Joab and his brother were strong men, not willing to submit 
to David's rule ; and David thought that he would be safer on his 
throne if they did not hold so mUch power. Also, David thought 
that to make Amasa general would please not only those who had 



David Again in His Palace 333 

been friends to Absalom, but many more of the people, for many- 
feared and hated Joab. 

At the river Jordan almost the whole tribe of Judah were 
gathered to bring the king back to Jerusalem. But this did not 
please the men of the other tribes. They said to the men of Judah, 
"You act as though you were the only friends of the king in all the 
land! We, too, have some right to David." 

The men of Judah said, "The king is of our own tribe, and is 
one of us. We come to meet him because we love him." 

But the people of the other tribes were still offended, and many 
of them went to their homes in anger. The tribe of Ephraim, in the 
middle of the land, was very jealous of the tribe of Judah, and 
unwilling to come again under David's rule. One man in Ephraim, 
Sheba, the son of Bichri, began a new rebellion, against David, 
which for a time threatened again to overthrow David's power. 

Amasa, the new commander of the army, called out his men 
to put down Sheba's rebellion. But he was slow in gathering his 
army, and Joab, the old general, went forth with a band of his own 
followers. Joab met Amasa, pretending to be his friend, and killed 
him, and then took the command. He shut up Sheba in a city far 
in the north, and finally caused him to be slain. So at last every 
enemy was put down ; and David sat again in peace upon his throne. 
But Joab, whom David feared and hated because of many evil deeds 
that he had done, was, as before, the commander of the army and 
in great power. Joab was faithful to David, and was a strong 
helper to David's throne. Without Joab's courage and skill in 
David's cause David might have failed in some of his wars, and 
especially in the war against Absalom's followers. But Joab was 
cruel and wicked ; and he was so strong that David could not con- 
trol him. David felt that he was not fully the king while Joab 
lived. 

But few people knew how David felt toward Joab : and in 
appearance the throne of David was now as strong as it had ever 
been ; and David's last years were years of peace and of power. 



Story Sixteen. 



THE ANGEL WITH THE DRAWN SWORD 
ON MOUNT MORIAH. 

II Samuel xxiv : i to 25 ; I Chronicles xxi : 1 to 27. 




FTER the death of Absalom, David ruled in peace 
over Israel for many years. His kingdom stretched 
from the river Euphrates to the border of Egypt, and 
from the Great Sea on the west to the great desert on 
the east. But again David did that which was very 
displeasing to God. He gave orders to Joab, who was the com- 
mander of his army, to send officers throughout all the tribes of 
Israel, and to count all the men who could go forth to battle. 

It may be that David's purpose was to gather a great army for 
some new war. Even Joab, the general, knew T that it was not right 
to do this; and he said to David, "May the Lord God make his 
people an hundred times as great as they are ; but are they not all 
the servants of my lord the king? Why does the king command 
this to be done? Surely it will bring sin upon the king and upon 
the people." 

But David was firm in his purpose, and Joab obeyed him, but 
not willingly. He sent men through all the twelve tribes to take 
the number of those in every city and town who were fit for war. 
They went throughout the land, until they had written down the 
number of eight hundred thousand men in ten of the tribes, and of 
nearly five hundred thousand men in the tribe of Judah, who could 
be called out for war. The tribe of Levi was not counted, because 
all its members were priests and Levites in the service of the Taber- 
nacle ; and Benjamin, on the border of which stood the city of 
Jerusalem, was not counted, because the numbering was never 
finished. 

It was left unfinished because God was angry with David and 
with the people on account of this sin. David saw that he had done 

(334) 



David's Choice of Evils 



335 



wickedly, in ordering the count of the people. He prayed 
to the Lord, and said, "0 Lord, I have sinned greatly in doing 
this. Now, Lord, forgive this sin, for I have done very 
foolishly." 

Then the Lord sent to David, a prophet, a man who heard God's 
voice and spoke as God's messenger. His name was Gad. Gad 
came to David, and said to him, "Thus saith the Lord, You 
have sinned in this 




thing, and now 
you and your land 
must suffer for your 
sin. I will give you 
the choice of three 
troubles to come 
upon the land. 
Shall I send seven 
years of famine, in 
which there shall 
be no harvest? Or 
shall your enemies 
overcome you, and 
win victories over 
you for three 
months ? Or shall 
there be three days 
when pestilence 
shall fall upon the 
land, and the peo- 
ple shall die every- 
where?" 

And David said 
to the prophet 
Gad, "This is a 
hard choice of evils 
to come upon the land; but let me fall into the hand of the 
Lord, and not into the hands of men ; for God's mercies are great 
and many. If we must suffer, let the three days of pestilence 
come upon the land." 

Then the Lord's angel of death passed through the land, and in 



DAVID GETS THE THRESHING-FLOOR. 



336 The Angel With the Drawn Sword 

three days seventy thousand men died. And when the angel of the 
Lord stretched out his hand over the city of Jerusalem, the Lord 
had pity upon the people, and the Lord said to him, " It is enough; 
now hold back your hand, and cause no more of the people 
to die." / 

Then the Lord opened David's eyes, and he saw the angel stand- 
ing on Mount Moriah, with a drawn sword in his hand, held out 
toward the city. Then David prayed to the Lord, and he said : 

"O Lord, I alone have sinned, and have done this wickedness 
before thee. These people are like sheep ; they have done nothing. 
Lord, let thy hand fall on me, and not on these poor people." 

Then the Lord sent the prophet Gad to David, and Gad said to 
him, "Go, and build an altar to the Lord upon the place where the 
angel was standing." 

Then David and the men of his court went out from Mount 
Zion, where the city was standing, and walked up the side of Mount 
Moriah. They found the man who owned the rock on the top of 
the mountain threshing wheat upon it, with his sons ; for the smooth 
rock was used as a threshing-floor, upon which oxen walked over 
the heads of grain, beating out the kernels with their feet. This 
man was not an Israelite, but a foreigner, of the race that had lived 
on those mountains before the Israelites came. His name was 
Araunah. 

When Araunah saw David and his nobles coming toward him, 
he bowed down with his face toward the ground, and said, "For 
what purpose does my lord the king come to his servant? " 

"I have come," said David, "to buy your threshing-floor, and 
to build upon it an altar to the Lord, that I may pray to God to stop 
the plague which is destroying the people." 

And Araunah said to David, "Let my lord the king take it 
freely as a gift, and with it these oxen for a burnt-offering, and the 
threshing-tools and the yokes of the oxen for the wood on the altar. 
All this, O king, Araunah gives to the king." 

" No," said King David ; "I cannot take it as a gift ; but I will 
pay you the price for it. For I will not make an offering to the 
Lord my God of that which costs me nothing." 

So David gave to Araunah the full price for the land, and for 
the oxen, and for the wood. And there, on the rock, he built an 
altar to the Lord God, and on it he offered burnt-offerings and peace- 



Solomon on David's Throne 337 

offerings. The Lord heard David's prayer and took away the 
plague from the land. 

And on that rock afterward stood the altar of the temple of the 
Lord on Mount Moriah. The rock is standing even to this day, and 
over it a building called "The Dome of the Rock." Those who 
visit the place can look upon the very spot where David built his 
altar and called upon the Lord. 



Story Seventeen. 



SOLOMON ON DAVID'S THRONE. 

I Kings i : i to 53. 




'URING the later years of David's reign he laid up great 
treasure of gold, and silver, and brass, and iron, for the 
building of a house to the Lord on Mount Moriah. 
This house was to be called "The Temple," and it was 
to be made very beautiful, the most beautiful building, 
and the richest, in all the land. David had greatly desired to build 
this house while he was the king of Israel, but God said to him : 

"You have been a man of war, and have fought many battles, 
and shed much blood. My house shall be built by a man of peace. 
When you die, your son Solomon shall reign, and he shall have 
peace, and shall build my house." 

So David made ready great store of precious things for the 
temple, also stone, and cedar to be used in the building. And 
David said to Solomon, his son: 

"God has promised that there shall be rest and peace to the 
land while you are king; and the Lord will be with you, and you 
shall build a house, where God shall live among his people." 

23 



338 Solomon on David's Throne 

But David had other sons who were older than Solomon; and 
one of these sons, whose name was Adonijah, formed a plan to make 
himself king. David was now very old, and he was no longer able 
to go out of his palace and to be seen among the people. 

Adonijah gathered his friends ; and among them were Joab, the 
general of the army, and Abiathar, one of the two high-priests. 
They met at a place outside the wall, and had a great feast, and 
were about to crown Adonijah as king, when word came to David 
in the palace. David, though old and feeble, was still wise. He 
said, " Let us make Solomon king at once, and thus put an end to 
the plans of these men." 

So, at David's command, they brought out the mule on which 
no one but the king was allowed to ride, and they placed Solomon 
upon it, and with the king's guards, and the nobles, and the great 
men, they brought the young Solomon down to the valley of Gihon, 
south of the city. 

And Zadok the priest took from the Tabernacle the horn filled 
with holy oil that was used for anointing or pouring oil on the head 
of the priests when they were set apart for their work. He poured 
oil from this horn on the head of Solomon, and then the priests 
blew the trumpets, and all the people cried aloud, "God save King 
Solomon." 

All this time Adonijah, and Joab, and their friends were not 
far away, almost in the same valley, feasting and making merry, 
intending to make Adonijah king. They heard the sound of 
trumpets and the shouting of the people. Joab said, "What is the 
cause of all this noise and uproar? " 

A moment later Jonathan, the son of Abiathar, came running 
in. We read of him in Story Fourteen as one of the two young 
men who brought news from Jerusalem to David at the river Jordan. 
Jonathan said to the men who were feasting : 

"Our lord, King David, has made Solomon king, and he has 
just been anointed in Gihon; and all the princes and the heads of 
the army are with him, and the people are shouting, ' God save King 
Solomon ! ' And David has sent from his bed a message to Solomon, 
saying, 'May the Lord make your name greater than my name 
has been ! Blessed be the Lord, who has given me a son to sit this 
day on my throne F " 

When Adonijah and his friends heard this they were filled with 



David's Burial Place 



339 



fear. Every man went at once to his house, except Adonijah. He 

hastened to the altar of the Lord, and knelt before it, and took hold 

of the horns that were on its corners in front. This was a holy 

place, and he hoped that there Solomon might might have mercy 

on him. And Solomon said, " If Adonijah will do right and be true 

to me as the king of Israel, no harm shall come to him; but if he 

does wrong he 

shall die." 

Then Adonijah 

came and 

bowed down 

before King 

Solomon, and 

promised to 

obey him, and 

Solomon said, 

"Go to your 

own house." 

Not long 
after this David 
sent for Solo- 
mon ; and from 

his bed he gave his last advice to Solomon. And soon after 
that David died, an old man, having reigned in all forty years, seven 
years over the tribe of Judah at Hebron, and thirty-three years 
over all Israel in Jerusalem. He was buried in great honor on 
Mount Zion, and his tomb remained standing for many years. 







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Story €igtjteen. 



THE WISE YOUNG KING. 

I Kings iii : i, to iv : 34 ; II Chronicles i : 1 to 13. 




OLOMON was a very young man, not more than twenty 
years old, when he became king and bore the heavy 
care of a great land. For his kingdom was larger than 
the twelve tribes of Israel, from Dan to Beersheba. 
On the north he ruled over all Syria, from Mount 
Hermon as far as the great river Euphrates. On the east, Ammon 
and Moab were under his power, and in the south all the land of 
Edom, far down into the desert where the Israelites had wandered 
long before. He had no wars, as David had before him, but at 
home and abroad his great realm was at peace as long as Solomon 
reigned. 

Soon after Solomon became king he went to Gibeon, a few 
miles north of Jerusalem, where the altar of the Lord stood until 
the Temple was built. At Gibeon Solomon made offerings and 
worshipped the Lord God of Israel. 

And that night the Lord God came to Solomon, and spoke to 
him. The Lord said, "Ask of me whatever you choose, and I will 
give it to you." 

And Solomon said to the Lord, " O Lord, thou didst show great 
kindness to my father, David ; and now thou hast made me king in 
my father's place. I am only a child, O Lord. I know not how 
to rule this great people, which is like the dust of the earth in num- 
ber. Give me, O Lord, I pray thee, wisdom and knowledge, that I 
may judge this people, and may know how to rule them aright." 

The Lord was pleased with Solomon's choice, and the Lord 
said to Solomon, "Since you have not asked of me long life, nor 
great riches for yourself, nor victory over your enemies, nor great 
power, but have asked wisdom and knowledge to judge this people, 
I have given you wisdom greater than that of any king before you, 
and greater than that of any king that shall come after you. And 

(340) 



How Solomon Showed His Wisdom 341 

because you have asked this, I will give you not only wisdom, but 
also honor and riches. And if you will obey my words, as your 
father David obeyed, you shall have long life, and shall rule for 
many years." 

Then Solomon awoke and found that it was a dream. But it 




THE WISE DECISION OF THE YOUNG KING SOLOMON. 



was a dream that came true, for God gave to Solomon all that he 
had promised, wisdom, and riches, and honor, and power, and long 
life. Soon after this Solomon showed his wisdom. Two women 
came before him with two little babies, one dead and the other 
living. Each of the two women claimed the living child as her 



342 



The Wise Young King 



own, and said that the dead child belonged to the other woman. 
One of the women said, "O my lord, we two women were sleeping 
with our children in one bed. And this woman in her sleep lay 
upon her child, and it died. Then she placed her dead child beside 
me while I was asleep, and took my child. In the morning I saw 
that it was not my child ; but she says it is mine, and the living child 
is hers. Now, O king, command this woman to give me my own 
child.' * Then the other woman said, ''That is not true, The dead baby 
is her own, and the living one is mine, which she is trying to take 
from me." 




BENAIAH, THE BRAVE COMMANDER OF SOLOMONS GUARD. 

The young king listened to both women. Then he said, 
"Bring me a sword." 

They brought a sword, and then Solomon said, "Take this 
sword, and cut the living child in two, and give half of it to each one. " 

Then one of the women cried out, and said, " O my lord, do not 
kill my child ! Let the other woman have it, but let the child live ! " 

But the other woman said, " No, cut the child in two, and divide 
it between us!" 



Benaiah's Brave Deed 343 

Then Solomon said, " Give the living child to the woman who 
would not have it slain, for she is its mother." 

And all the people wondered at the wisdom of one so young; 
and they saw that God had gave him understanding. 

Solomon chose some of the great men who had helped his 
father David, to stand beside his throne and do his will. Among 
those was a man named Benaiah, the son of Jehoioda. He was 
one of those who had come to David while he was hiding from 
Saul, as we read in Story Seven of this Part. At that time 
Benaiah, while still a young man, did a very bold deed. He 
found a lion in a deep pit, leaped into the pit, and killed the lion. 
For this act, Benaiah became famous, for few people would dare 
to venture so near to a lion, with the weapons in use at that time. 
This brave man was old in Solomon's day, but he was still strong, 
and Solomon gave him a high place, at the head of his guards. 



Story ZXimteen. 



THE HOUSE OF GOD ON MOUNT 
MORIAH. 

I Kings v : 1, to ix : 9 ; II Chronicles iii : i, to vii ; 22. 




HE great work of Solomon's reign was the building of 
the house of God, which was called "The Temple." 
This stood on Mount Moriah, on the east of Mount 
Zion, and it covered the whole mountain. King David 
had prepared for it by gathering great stores of gold, 
and silver, and stone, and cedar-wood. The walls were made of 
stone, and the roof of cedar. 

For the building the cedar was brought from Mount Lebanon, 
where there were many large cedar- trees. The trees were cut down 



344 The House of God on Mount Moriah 

and carried to Tyre on the seacoast. There they were made into 
rafts in the Great Sea, and were floated down to Joppa. At Joppa 
they were taken ashore and were carried up to Jerusalem. All this 
work was done by the men of Tyre, at the command of their king, 
Hiram, who was a friend of Solomon, as he had been a friend of King 
David. 

All the stones for the building of the Temple were hewn into 
shape and fitted together before they were brought to Mount 
Moriah. And all the beams for the roof and the pillars of cedar 
were carved and made to join each other; so that as the walls arose 
no sound of hammer or chisel was heard ; the great building rose up 
quietly. You remember the form of the Tabernacle which was built 
before Mount Sinai, in the wilderness, with its court, its Holy Place, 
and its Holy of Holies. (See Part First, Story Twenty-seven.) The 
Temple was copied after the Tabernacle, except that it was much 
larger, and was a house of stone and cedar, instead of a tent. 

The Tabernacle had one court around it, where the priests only 
could enter; but the Temple had two courts, both open to the sky, 
with walls of stone around them, and on the walls double rows of 
cedar pillars, and a roof above the pillars, so that people could walk 
around the court upon the walls protected from the sun. The 
court in front was for the people, for all the men of Israel could enter 
it, but no people of foreign race. This was called "the Fore-court." 
Beyond the Fore-court was the Court of the Priests, where only the 
priests were allowed to walk. At the east gate of this court stood 
the great altar of burnt-offerings, built of rough, unhewn stones, for 
no cut stones could be used in the altar. This altar stood on the 
rock which had been the threshing-floor of Araunah, where David 
saw the angel of the Lord standing. (See Story Sixteen in this Part.) 

Near the altar, in the Court of the Priests, stood a great tank 
for water, so large that it was called " a sea. " It was made of brass, 
and stood on the backs of twelve oxen, also made of brass. From 
this the water was taken for washing the offerings. 

Within the Court of the Priests stood the Holy House, or the 
Temple building, made of marble and of cedar. Its front was a high 
tower, called the Porch. In this were rooms for the high-priest and 
his sons. 

Back of the Porch was the Holy Place. This was a long room 
in which stood the table for the twelve loaves of the bread, and 



The Temple Built 



345 



golden altar of incense. In the Holy Place of the Tabernacle stood 
the golden lampstand. We are not sure whether it was in the 
Temple ; for either in place of the lampstand, or perhaps in addition 
to it, Solomon placed ten lamps of gold in the Holy Place. 

Between the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies was a great vail, 
as in the Tabernacle. And in the Holy of Holies the priests placed 
the Ark of the Covenant. This, vou remember, was a box or chest 

of gold, in which were kept 

the two stone tablets of the l ^jjB 
Ten Commandments. This 
ark of the covenant was all !■ SmS*^ 
that stood in the Holy of ! isSjf 




SOLOMON BUILDS THE TEMPLE 



Holies ; and into this room only the high-priest came, and he only 
on one day in the year, the great Day of Atonement, when the 
scapegoat was sent away. (See Story Thirty in Part First.) 

Outside of the Temple building were rooms for the priests. 
They were built on the outer wall of the house, on the rear and the 
two sides, but not in front, three stories high; and were entered 
from the outside only. In these rooms the priests lived while they 
were staying at the Temple to lead in the worship. 



346 The Last Days of Solomon's Reign 

Seven years were spent in building the Temple, but at last it 
was finished ; and a great service was held when the house was set 
apart to the worship of the Lord. Many offerings were burned upon 
the great altar, the ark was brought from Mount Zion and placed in 
the Holy of Holies, and King Solomon knelt upon a platform in; 
front of the altar and offered a prayer to the Lord before all the! 
people, who filled the courts of the Temple. 

One night, after the Temple was finished, the Lord appeared 
to Solomon in a dream for the second time. And the Lord said to 
Solomon, "I have- heard the prayer which you have offered to me, 
and I have made this house holy. It shall be my house, and I will 
dwell there. And if you will walk before me as David, your father, 
walked, doing my will, then your throne shall stand forever. But 
if you turn aside from following the Lord, then I will leave this house, 
and will turn from it, and will let the enemies of Israel come and 
destroy this house that was built for me." 



Story tDrenty. 



THE LAST DAYS OF SOLOMON'S REIGN, 

I Kings x : i, to xi : 43. 




NDER King Solomon the land of Israel arose to great- 
ness as never before and never afterwards. All the 
countries around Israel, and some that were far away, 
sent their princes to visit Solomon. And eveiy one 
who saw him wondered at his wisdom and his skill to 
answer hard questions. It was said that King Solomon was the 
wisest man in all the world. He wrote many of the wise sayings 
in the Book of Proverbs, and many more that have been lost. He 
wrote more than a thousand songs. He spoke of trees, and of 











1 _■ 


V- ■ 

- 

1 


3. . «^>>*^| S| 




; '- 





348 The Last Days of Solomon's Reign 

animals, and of birds, and of fishes. From many lands people came 
to see Solomon's splendor in living and to listen to his wise 
words. 

In a land more than a thousand miles from Jerusalem, on the 
south of Arabia, in the land of Sheba, the queen heard of Solomon's 
wisdom. She left her home, with a great company of her nobles, 
riding on camels and bearing rich gifts ; and she came to visit King 
Solomon. The queen of Sheba brought to Solomon many hard 
questions, and she told him all that was in her heart. Solomon 
answered all her questions, and showed her all the glory of his 
palace, and his throne, and his servants, and the richness of his 
table, and the steps by which he went up from his palace to the 
house of the Lord. And when she had heard and seen all, she 
said: 

' 'All that I heard in my own land of your wisdom and your 
greatness was true. But I did not believe it until I came and saw 
your kingdom. And not half was told me ; for your wisdom and 
your splendor are far beyond what I had heard. Happy are those 
who are always before you to hear your wisdom! Blessed be the 
Lord thy God, who has set thee on the throne of Israel!" 

And the queen of Sheba gave to Solomon great treasures of 
gold, and sweet-smelling spices, and perfumes; and Solomon also 
made to her rich presents. Then she went back to her own land. 

Solomon's great palace, where he lived in state, stood on the 
southern slope of Mount Moriah, a little lower than the Temple. 
Its pillars of cedar were very many, so that they stood like a forest ; 
and on that account it was called "The House of the Forest of 
Lebanon." From this palace a wide staircase of stone led up to 
the Temple, and Solomon and his princes walked up these stairs 
when they went to worship. 

But there was a dark side as well as a bright side to the reign 
of Solomon. His palaces, and the walled cities that he built to 
protect his kingdom on all sides, and the splendor of his court, cost 
much money. To pay for these he laid heavy taxes upon his people, 
and from all the tribes he compelled many of the men to work on 
buildings, to become soldiers in his army, to labor in his fields, and 
to serve in his household. Before the close of Solomon's reign the 
cry of the people rose up against Solomon and his rule, on account 
of the heavy burdens that he had laid upon the land. 



The Torn Mantle 349 

Solomon was very wise in affairs of the world, but he had no 
feeling for the poor of the lancl, nor did he love God with all his 
heart. He chose for his queen a daughter of Pharaoh, the king of 
Egypt, and he built for her a splendid palace. And he married 
many other women who were the daughters of kings. These 
women had worshipped idols in their own homes, and to please 
them, Solomon built on the Mount of Olives a temple of idols, in full 
view of the Temple of the Lord. So images of Baal, and the 
Asherah, and of Chemosh, the idol of the Moabites, and of Molech, 
the idol of the Ammonites, stood on the hill in front of Jerusalem ; 
and to these images King Solomon himself offered sacrifices. How 
great was the shame of the good men in Israel when they saw their 
king surrounded by idol-priests, and bowing down upon his face 
before images of stone! 

The Lord was very angry with Solomon for all this, and the 
Lord said to Solomon, " Since you have done these wicked things, 
and have not kept your promise to serve me, and because you have 
turned aside from my commands, I will surely take away the 
kingdom of Israel from your son, and will give it to one of your 
servants. But for the sake of your father, David, who loved me 
and obeyed my commands, I will not take away from your son all 
the kingdom, but I will leave to him, and to his children after him, 
one tribe," 

The servant of King Solomon, of whom the Lord spoke, was a 
young man of the tribe of Ephraim, named Jeroboam. He was a 
very able man, and in the building of one of Solomon's castles he 
had charge over all the work done by the men of his tribe. One day 
a prophet of the Lord, named Ahijah, met the young Jeroboam as 
he was going out of Jerusalem. Ahijah took off his own mantle, 
which was a new one, and tore it into twelve pieces. Ten of these 
pieces he gave to Jeroboam, saying to him : 

"Take these ten pieces, for thus saith the Lord, the God of 
Israel, I will tear the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon's son, and 
will give ten tribes to you. But Solomon's son shall have one tribe 
for my servant David's sake, and for the sake of Jerusalem. You 
shall reign over ten of the tribes of Israel, and shall have all that 
you desire. And if you will do my will, saith the Lord, then I will 
be with you, and will give to your children and children's children 
to rule long over this land." 



35° The Last Days of Solomon's Reign 

When King Solomon heard what the prophet Ahijah had said 
and done, he tried to kill Jeroboam. But Jeroboam fled into Egypt, 
and stayed there until the end of Solomon's reign. 

Solomon reigned in all forty years, as David had reigned before 
him. He died, and was buried on Mount Zion, and Rehoboam, his 
son, became king in his place. 

Sometimes the reign of Solomon has been called "the Golden 
Age of Israel," because it was a time of peace, and of wide rule, 
and of great riches. But it would be better to call it "the Gilded 
Age," because under all the show and glitter of Solomon's reign 
there were many evil things, a king allowing and helping 
the worship of idols, a court filled with idle and useless nobles, 
and the poor of the land heavily burdened with taxes and labor. 
The empire of Solomon was ready to fall in pieces, and the fall 
soon came. 



Part ^ourtfy 



Stories of tfye Ktngbom of 3srael 



Story (Dm. 



THE BREAKING UP OF A GREAT 
KINGDOM. 

I Kings xii : i to 24 ; II Chronicles x : 1 to 19. 




>HEN the strong rule of King Solomon was ended by 
his death, and his weak son, Rehoboam, followed 
him as king, all the people of Israel rose as one man 
against the heavy burdens which Solomon had laid 
upon the land. They would not allow Rehoboam to 
be crowned king in Jerusalem, but made him come to Shechem, in 
the tribe-land of Ephraim/and in the center of the country. The 
oeople sent for Jeroboam, who was in Egypt, and he became their 
leader. They said to Rehoboam, "Your father, Solomon, laid 
upon us heavy burdens of taxes and of work. If you will promise 
to take away our load, and make the taxes and the work lighter, 
then we will receive you as king, and will serve you." 

"Give me three days," said Rehoboam, "and then I will tell 
you what I will do." 

So Jeroboam and the people waited for three days, while Reho- 
boam talked with the rulers and with his friends. Rehoboam first 
called together the old men who had stood before the throne of 
Solomon and had helped him in his rule. He said to these men, 
"What answer shall I give to this people, who ask to have their 
burdens made light?" 

And these old men said to King Rehoboam, "If you will be 
wise to-day, and yield to the people, and speak good words to them, 
then they will submit to you, and will serve you always. Tell them 
that you will take off the heavy burdens, and that you will rule the 
land in kindness." 

23 (353) 



354 The Breaking Up of a Great Kingdom 



But Rehoboam would not heed the advice of these wise old 
men. He talked with the young princes who had grown up with 
him in the palace, and who cared nothing for the people or their 
troubles; and he said to these young men, "The people are asking 

to have their 
heavy burdens 
taken away. 
What shall I 
say to them?" 
And the 
young nobles 
said to Reho- 
boam, " Say to 
the people this, 
'My father 
made your 
burdens heavy, 
but I will 
make them 
heavier still. 
My father beat 
you with 
whips, but I 
will sting you 
with scorpions. 
My little ringer 
shall be thicker 
than my fath- 
er's waist.' " 

On the 
third day Jero- 
boam and all 

the people came to Rehoboam for his answer. And the foolish 
young king did not follow the good advice of the old men who knew 
the people and their needs. He did as the haughty young princes 
told him to do, and spoke harshly to the people, and said, "My 
father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to it, and make it 
heavier. You will find my little finger thicker than my father's 
waist. My father struck you with whips, but I will sting you with 




REHOBOAM SPCKE HARSHLY TO THE PEOPLE 



The Two Kingdoms 355 

scorpions.' ' Then the people of Israel were very angry against 
the king. They said, "Why should we submit any longer to the 
house of David? Let us leave the family of David, and choose a 
king of our own. To your tents, Israel! Now, Rehoboam, son 
of David, care for your own house!" 

Thus in one day ten of the twelve tribes of Israel broke away 
forever from the rule of King Rehoboam and the house of David. 
They made Jeroboam, of the tribe of Ephraim, their king. In his 
kingdom was all the land northward from Bethel to Dan, and also 
all the tribes on the east of the river Jordan. His kingdom being 
the larger, was called Israel; but it was also called "the kingdom 
of the Ten Tribes," and because Ephraim was its leading tribe, it 
was often spoken of as "the land of Ephraim." 

When Rehoboam saw that he had lost his kingdom, he made 
haste to save his life by fleeing away from Shechem. He rode in his 
chariot quickly to Jerusalem, where the people were his friends ; and 
there he ruled as king, but only over the tribe of Judah and as much 
of Benjamin as was south of Bethel. The tribe of Simeon had once 
lived on the south of Judah, but some of its people were lost among 
the people of Judah, and others among the Arabs of the desert, so 
that it was no longer a separate tribe. 

Rehoboam ruled over the mountain country on the west of the 
Dead Sea, but he had no control over the Philistine cities on the 
plain beside the Great Sea. So the kingdom of Judah, as it was 
called, was less than one-third the size of the kingdom of Israel, or 
the Ten Tribes. 

David had conquered, and Solomon had ruled, not only the 
land of Israel, but Syria on the north of Israel, reaching up to the 
great river Euphrates, and Ammon by the desert on the east, and 
Moab on the east of the Dead Sea, and Edom on the south. When 
the kingdom was divided, all the empire of Solomon was broken up. 
The Syrians formed a kingdom of their own, having Damascus as 
its chief city. The Ammonites, the Moabites, and the Edomites, 
all had their own kings, though the king of Moab was for a time 
partly under the king of Israel, and the king of Edom partly under 
the king of Judah. So the great and strong empire founded by 
David, and held by Solomon, fell apart, and became six small, 
struggling states 

Yet all this was by the will of the Lord, who did not wish Israel 



356 The King Who Led Israel to Sin 

to become a great nation, but a good people. The Israelites were 
growing rich, and were living for the world, while God desired them 
to be his people, and to worship him only. So, when Rehoboam 
undertook to gather an army to fight the Ten Tribes, and to bring 
them under his rule, God sent a prophet to Rehoboam, who said to 
him, ''Thus saith the Lord, Ye shall not go up and fight against 
your brothers, the children of Israel. Return every man to his 
house; for it is God's will that there should be two kingdoms." 

And the men of Judah obeyed the word of the Lord, and left 
the Ten Tribes to have their own kingdom and their own king. 



Story Ctr>o* 



THE KING WHO LED ISRAEL TO SIN, 

AND THE PROPHET WHO WAS 

SLAIN BY A LION. 

i Kings xii : 25, to xiv : 20 ; xv : 25 to 32. 




HE Lord had told Jeroboam that he should become 
king over the Ten Tribes, as we read in Story Twenty 
of Part Third ; and the Lord had promised Jeroboam 
that if he would serve the Lord, and do his will, then 
his kingdom would become great, and his descend- 
ants, those who should come after him, should sit long on the throne. 
But Jeroboam, though wise in worldly matters, was not faithful to 
the Lord God of Israel. 

He saw that his people, though separated from the rule of King 
Rehoboam, still went up to Jerusalem to worship in the Temple, 
because there was the only altar in all the land. Jeroboam said to 
himself : 







THE WIFE OF JEROBOAM AND THE BLIND PROPHET. 



358 The King Who Led Israel to Sin 

" If my people go up to worship at Jerusalem, then after a time 
they will become the friends of Rehoboam and his people ; and then 
they will leave me, or perhaps kill me, and let Rehoboam rule again 
over all the land. I will build places for worship and altars in my 
own kingdom; and then my people will not need to go abroad to 
worship." 

Jeroboam forgot that the Lord, who had given him the king- 
dom, could care for him and keep him, if he should be faithful to 
the Lord. But because he would not trust the Lord, he did that 
which was very evil. He chose two places, Bethel in the south, 
on the road to Jerusalem, and Dan far in the north ; and made these 
places of worship for his people. And for each place he made a 
calf of gold, and set it up ; and he said to the people of Israel : 

"It is too far for you to go up to Jerusalem to worship. Here 
are gods for you, at Bethel and at Dan. These are the gods which 
brought you up out of the land of Egypt. Come and worship 
these gods." 

And as the priests of the tribe of Levi would not serve in Jero- 
boam's idol-temples, he took men out of all. the tribes, some of them 
common and low men, and made them his priests. And all through 
the land, upon hills and high places, Jeroboam caused images to be 
set up, to lead the people in worshipping idols. 

In the fall of the year there was held a feast to the Lord in 
Jerusalem, to which the people went from all the land. Jeroboam 
made a great feast at Bethel, a few weeks later than the feast 
at Jerusalem, in order to draw people to his idol-temple at 
Bethel, and to keep them away from the temple of the Lord at 
Jerusalem. At this feast King Jeroboam went up to the idol-altar 
at Bethel, and burned incense, which was a sweet-smelling smoke, 
made by burning certain gums. Thus Jeroboam led his people away 
from the Lord to idols ; and ever after this, when his name is men- 
tioned in the Bible, he is spoken of as " Jeroboam, who made Israel 
to sin." 

On a day when Jeroboam was offering incense at the altar, a 
man of God, a prophet, came from Judah ; and he cried out against 
the altar, saying: 

"O altar, altar, thus saith the Lord, Behold, in the time to 
come there shall rise up a man of the house of David, Josiah by 
name. And Josiah shall burn upon this altar the bones of the 



The Prophet from Judah 359 

priests that have offered sacrifices to idols in this place. And this 
altar and this temple shall be destroyed." 

The prophet from Judah also said to Jeroboam, " I will prove 
to you that I am speaking in the power of the Lord ; and this shall 
be the sign. This altar shall fall apart, and the ashes upon it shall 
be poured out." 

When King Jeroboam heard this, he was very angry. He 
stretched out his arm toward the prophet, and called to his guards, 
saying, "Take hold of that man!" 

And instantly the hand which Jeroboam held out toward the 
prophet, dried up and became helpless. And as if by an earthquake 
the altar before which the king stood was torn apart, and the ashes 
fell out upon the ground. Then the king saw that this was the work 
of the Lord. He said to the prophet, "Pray to the Lord your 
God for me, that he may make my hand well again." 

Then the prophet prayed to the Lord, and the Lord heard his 
prayer, and made the king's hand w T ell once more. Then King 
Jeroboam said to the prophet, "Come home with me, and dine, 
and rest; and I will give you a reward." 

And the man of God said to the king: 

" If you would give me half of your house, I will not go to your 
home, nor eat bread, nor drink water in this place. For the word 
of the Lord came to me, saying, ' Eat no bread, and drink no water 
in this place ; and go to your home in the land of Judah by another 
way.' " 

So the man of God left Bethel by a road different from that by 
which he came, and went toward his own home in the land of Judah. 

There was living in Bethel at that time another prophet, an 
old man. His sons told him of the coming of the man of God from 
Judah, what he had said, and what the Lord had wrought. The 
old man learned from his sons which road the prophet had taken, 
and followed after him, and found him resting under an oak tree. 
He said to him: 

"Are you the man of God that came from Judah?" 

And he said, " I am." Then said the old prophet of Bethel to 
him, "Come home with me, and have supper with me." 

But the man of God said to him, "The Lord has commanded 
me not to eat bread or drink water in this place ; and I must there- 
fore go back to my own home in the land of Judah." 



3 6 ° 



The King Who Led Israel to Sin 



Then the old man said: 

" I am a prophet of the Lord as you are ; and an angel spoke 
to me from the Lord, saying, ' Bring the prophet from Judah back 

to your house, 
and let him 
eat and drink 
with you.' " 

Now this 
was not true. 
It was a wicked 
lie. Then the 
prophet from 
Judah went 
home with him, 
and took a 
meal at his 
house. This 
also was not 
right, for he 
should have 
obeyed what 
the Lord had 
said to him, 
even though 
another man 
claime d to 
have heard a 
different mes- 
sage from the 
Lord. 

And even 
while they were 
sitting at the 
table, a word 
came from the 
Lord to the old 
prophet who 
had told the lie ; and he cried out to the prophet from Judah, saying: 

" Thus saith the Lord, * Because you have disobeyed my com- 




A LION CAME OUT AND KILLED THE PROPHET. 



An Old Prophet's Warning 361 

mand, and have come back to this place, and have eaten bread and 
drunk water here, therefore you shall die and your body shall not 
be buried in the tomb with your fathers.' " 

After dinner the prophet started again to ride upon his ass back 
to his own home. And on the way a lion came out, and killed him. 
But the lion did not eat the man's body. He stood beside it, and 
the ass stood by it also. And this was told to the old prophet whose 
lies had led him to disobey the Lord. Then the old prophet came, 
and took up his body, and laid it in his own tomb, and mourned 
over him. And he said to his sons : 

"When I am dead, bury me beside the body of the prophet 
from the land of Judah. For I know that what he spoke as the 
message of God against the altar at Bethel shall surely come to 
pass." 

At one time the child of King Jeroboam was taken very ill ; 
and his mother, the queen, went to the prophet Ahijah, the one 
who had promised the kingdom to Jeroboam (see Story Twenty 
in Part Third), who was now an old man and blind, if the child 
would be well again. But Ahijah said to her: "Tell King Jero- 
boam that thus saith the Lord to him : 

"You have done evil worse than any before you; and have 
made graven images, and have cast the Lord behind your back. 
Therefore the Lord will bring evil upon you and upon your house. 
Your sick child shall die, and every other child of yours shall be 
slain ; and your family shall be swept away. The dogs shall eat 
the bodies of your children in the city, and the birds of the air 
shall eat th -*se that die in the field. And in times to come God 
shall smite Israel, and shall carry them into a land far away, be- 
cause of the idols which they have worshipped." 

And after this Jeroboam died, and his son Nadab began to 
reign in his place. But after two years Baasha, one of his servants, 
rose up against Nadab, and killed him, and made himself king over 
Israel. And Baasha killed every child of Jeroboam, and left not 
one son or daughter of Jeroboam alive, as Ahijah the prophet had 
said. 

So, although Jeroboam was made king, as God had promised 
him, it came to pass that the kingdom was taken away from his 
family, because he did not obey the word of the Lord, but led his 
people into sin. 



Stoty Cfyree. 



THE PROPHET WHOSE PRAYER RAISED 
A BOY TO LIFE. 

I Kings xv : 33, to xvii : 24. 




FTER Jeroboam and Nadab, his son Baasha reigned 
as king of Israel. But he did as Jeroboam had done 
before him, disobeying the word of the Lord and wor- 
shipping idols. Therefore the Lord sent a prophet to 
Baasha, saying, ''Thus saith the Lord to Baasha, king 
of Israel, I lifted you up from the dust and made you the prince over 
my people Israel. But you have walked in the way of Jeroboam, 
and have made Israel sin. Therefore your family shall be destroyed, 
like the family of Jeroboam." 

When Baasha died, his son Elah became king ; but while he 
was drinking wine and making himself drunk, his servant, Zimri, 
came in and killed him, and killed also all his family, and all the 
house of Baasha, so that not one was left. 

Zimri tried to make himself king, but his reign was short, only 
seven days. Omri, the general of the Israelite army, made war upon 
him, and shut him up in his palace. When Zimri found that he 
could not escape, he set his palace on 'fire and was burned up with it. 
After this there was w T ar in Israel between Omri and another man, 
named Tibni, each trying to win the kingdom. But at last Tibni 
was slain, and Omri became king. 

Omri was not a good man, for he worshipped idols, like the 
kings before him. But he was a strong king, and made his kingdom 
great. He made peace with the kingdom of Judah, for there had 
been war between Judah and Israel ever since Jeroboam had 
founded the kingdom. Omri bought a hill in the middle of the 
land, from a man named Shemer ; and on the hill he built a city 
which ne named Samaria, after the name of the man from whom he 
had bought the hill. The city of Samaria became in Israel what 

(362) 




ELIJAH WAS FED BY THE BIRDS. 



364 Prophet's Prayer Raised a Boy to Life 

Jerusalem was in Judah, the chief city and capital. Before the time 
of Orriri the kings of Israel had lived in different cities, sometimes in 
Shechem, and sometimes in Tirzah; but after Omri all the kings 
lived in Samaria; so that the kingdom itself was often called "the 
kingdom of Samaria." 

After Omri came his son, Ahab, as king of Israel, reigning in 
Samaria. He was worse than any of the kings before him. Ahab 
took for his wife Jezebel, the daughter of the king of Zidon, on the 
coast of the Great Sea ; and Jezebel brought into Israel the worship 
of Baal and of the Asherah (see Story Eight in Part Second), which 
was far more wicked than even the worship of the golden calves at 
Bethel and Dan. And Jezebel was so bitter against the worship of 
the Lord God of Israel that she sought out the prophets of the Lord 
everywhere, and slew them ; so that to save their lives the prophets 
hid in caves among the mountains. 

You remember that when Joshua destroyed and burned the 
city of Jericho, he spoke a curse, in the name of the Lord, upon any 
man who should ever build again the walls of Jericho. (See Story 
Two in Part Second.) In the days of Ahab, king of Israel, five 
hundred years after Joshua, the walls of Jericho were built by a 
man named Hiel, who came from Bethel, the place of the idol- 
temple. When he laid the foundation of the wall his oldest son, 
Abiram, died ; and when he set up the gates of the city his youngest 
son, Segub, died. Thus came to pass the word of the Lord spoken 
by Joshua. 

In the reign of King Ahab a great prophet suddenly rose up, 
named Elijah. He came from the land of Gilead, beyond the river 
Jordan, and he lived alone out in the wilderness. His clothing was 
a mantle of skin, and his hair and beard were long and rough. 
Without any warning, Elijah came into the presence of King Ahab, 
and said, "As the Lord God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, 
there shall not fall upon the ground any dew or rain until I call 
for it." 

And then he went away as suddenly as he had come. At the 
Lord's command he hid himself in a wild place by the brook Cherith, 
which flows down from the mountains into the river Jordan. There 
he drank of the water in the brook, and every day the wild birds, 
the ravens, brought him food. 

It came to pass_as Elijah had said, that no rain fell upon the 



Elijah Goes to Zarephath 



365 



land, and there was not even any dew upon the grass. Every day 
the brook from which Elijah drank grew smaller, until at last it was 
dry, and there was no water. Then the Lord spoke to Elijah again, 
and said, "Rise 
up, and go to 
Zarephath, which 
is near to Zidon, 
by the Great Sea, 
on the north of 
the land of Israel. 
I have com- 
manded a widow 
woman there to 
care for you." 

So Elijah left 
the brook Cherith 
and walked north- 
ward through the 
land until he 
came near to the 
city of Zarephath. 
There, beside the 
gate of the city, 
he saw a woman 
dressed as a 
widow picking up 
sticks. Elijah 
said to her, "Will 
you bring to me 
some water, that 
I may drink?" 

She went to 

bring him the elijah brings the boy to his mother, 

water, and Elijah 

said again, " Bring me also, I pray you, a little piece of bread to 
eat." 

And the woman said to Elijah, "As sure as the Lord your God 
lives, I have not in the house even a loaf of bread; but only one 
handful of meal in the barrel, and a little oil in a bottle; and now I 




366 Prophet's Prayer Raised a Boy to Life 

am gathering a few sticks to make a fire, that I may bake it for me 
and my son; and when we have eaten it, there is nothing left for us 
but to die." 

Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah, and he said to the 
woman, " Fear not ; go and do as you have said ; but first make me 
a little cake, and bring it to me, and afterward make for yourself and 
your son. For thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel, ' The barrel 
of meal shall not waste nor the bottle of oil fail, until the day when 
the Lord sends rain upon the earth.' " 

And the widow woman believed Elijah's word. She took from 
her barrel the meal and from her bottle the oil, and made a little 
cake for the prophet, and then found enough left for herself and for 
her son. And the barrel always had meal in it, and the bottle held 
oil every day. And the prophet, and the woman, and her son had 
food as long as they needed it. 

After this, one day the son of the widow was taken very ill, and 
his illness was so great that there was no breath left in him. The 
boy's mother said to Elijah, "0 man of God! have you come here 
to cause my son to die? " 

And Elijah said to her, "Give me your son." 

And Elijah carried the boy up to his own room, and laid him 
on the bed. Then he cried to the Lord, and said, "0 Lord God, 
hast thou brought trouble upon this woman, by taking away the 
life of her son?" 

Then he stretched himself upon the child's body three times, 
and cried to the Lord again, " Lord God, I pray thee, let this child's 
soul come into him again ! ' ' 

And the Lord heard Elijah's prayer, and the child became 
living once more. Then Elijah carried the living boy back to his 
mother; and she said, " Now I am sure that you are a man of God, 
and that the word of the Lord which you speak is the truth.' ' 



Story $our. 



THE PRAYER THAT WAS ANSWERED IN 

FIRE. 

I Kings xviii : i to 46. 




HREE years passed after Elijah gave the message of 
the Lord to King Ahab, and in all that time no 
rain fell upon the land of Israel. Everywhere the 
brooks ceased to flow, the springs became dry, the 
ground was parched, and the fields gave no harvest. 
There was no grass for the cattle and the flocks, and there was 
scarcely any food for the people. 

King Ahab was in great trouble. He knew that Elijah had 
the power to call down rain; but Elijah was nowhere to be found. 
He sent men to search for him everywhere in the land, and he 
asked the kings of the nations around to look for him in their 
countries; for he hoped to persuade the prophet to set the land 
free from the long drought by calling for rain. 

When the land was at its worst, in the third year, Ahab called 
the chief of his servants, the man who stood next to the king. His 
name was Obadiah, and, unlike Ahab, he was a good man, worship- 
ping the Lord, and trying to do right. Once, when Queen Jezebel 
sought to kill all the prophets of the Lord, Obadiah hid a hundred 
of them in two caves, fifty in each cave, and gave them food, and 
kept them in safety. 

Ahab said to Obadiah, " Let us go through all the land, you in 
one part, and I in another, and look for running streams and foun- 
tains of water. Perhaps we can find some water, enough to save 
a part of the horses and mules, so that we may not lose them all." 

And as Obadiah was going through his part of the country, 
looking for water, suddenly Elijah met him. Obadiah knew Elijah 
at once. He fell on his face before him, and said, "Is this my lord 
Elijah? ,, 

(367) 



368 The Prayer that was Answered in Fire 

And Elijah answered him, "Yes, it is I, Elijah. Go and tell 
your master that Elijah is here." 

And Obadiah said, " Oh, my Lord, what wrong have I done, that 
you would cause King Ahab to kill me? For there is not a land 
where Ahab has not sent for you ; and now when I go to tell him 
that you are here, the Spirit of the Lord will send you away to some 
other place, and then if Ahab cannot find you he will be angry at 
me, and kill me. Do you not know that I fear the Lord, and serve 




MOUNT CARMEL. 



him?" And Elijah said, "As the Lord God lives, I will surely 
show myself to King Ahab to-day." 

So Obadiah went to meet Ahab, and told him of Elijah's 
coming; and Ahab went to meet Elijah. When Ahab saw Elijah, 
he said to him, " Are you here, you that have brought all this trouble 
upon Israel?" 

And Elijah answered the king, "I am not the one that has 
brought trouble upon Israel. It is you, and your house ; for you 
have turned away from the commands of the Lord, and have wor- 



The Great Meeting on the Mountain 369 

shipped the images of Baal. Now send and bring all the people to 
Mount Carmel, and with them the four hundred prophets of Baal, 
and the four hundred prophets of the Asherah, who ate at Jezebel's 
table." 

So Ahab did as Elijah commanded, and brought all the people 
to Mount Carmel, which stands by the Great Sea. And Elijah 
stood before all the multitude, and he said to them. " How long will 
you go halting and limping back and forth between two sides, not 
choosing either ? If the Lord is God, follow him ; but if Baal is God, 
then follow him." 

And the people had not a word to say. Then Elijah spoke 
again, and said, "I am alone, the only prophet of the Lord here 
to-day ; but Baal's prophets are four hundred and fifty men. Now, 
let the people give us two young oxen, one for Baal's prophets, and 
one for me. Let the prophets of Baal take one ox, and cut it up, 
and lay it on the altar on the wood. But let no fire be placed under 
it. And I will do the same ; then you call on your god, and I will 
call on the Lord. And the God who sends down fire upon his altar, 
he shall be the God of Israel." 

And the people said, "What you have spoken is right. We 
will do as you say, and will see who is the true God." 

Then the two oxen were brought, and one was cut in pieces 
and laid on the altar of Baal. The prophets of Baal stood around 
the altar, and cried aloud, "O Baal, hear us!" But there was no 
answer, nor any voice. After a time the worshippers of Baal 
became furious. They leaped and danced around the altar, and 
they cut themselves with swords and lances, until the blood gushed 
out upon them. And Elijah laughed at them, and mocked them, 
calling out, " Call out louder, for surely he is a god! Perhaps he is 
sitting still and thinking, or he has gone on a journey; or perhaps 
he is asleep, and must be awaked!" 

But it was all in vain. The middle of the afternoon came, and 
there was no answer. The altar stood with its offering, but no fire 
came upon it. Then Elijah said to all the people, " Come near to 
me. 

And they came near. He found an old altar to the Lord that 
had been thrown down, and he took twelve stones, one for each of 
the twelve tribes, and piled them up to form the altar anew. Around 
the altar he dug a trench, to carry away water. Then he cut wood, 

24 



37o The Prayer that Was Answered in Fire 

and laid it on the altar, and on the wood he placed the young ox, cut 
into pieces for a sacrifice. Then he said, "Fill four barrels with 
water, and pour it on the offering." 

The Great Sea was near at hand, in sight of all the people ; and 
from it they brought four barrels of water, and poured it on the 
altar. He called upon them to do it again, and a third time, until 
the offering, and the wood, and the altar were soaked through and 
through, and the trench was filled with water. 

Then, in the sight of all the people, Elijah, the prophet, drew 
near, and stood all alone before the altar, and prayed in these words, 
"0 Lord, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Israel, let it 
be known this day that thou art God in Israel, and that I am thy 
servant, and that I have done all these things at thy word. Hear 
me, O Lord, hear me, that this people may know that thou, Lord, 
art God, and that thou hast turned their hearts back again to thy- 
self." 

Then the fire fell from the Lord, and burned up the offering, 
and the wood, and the stones and the dust, and licked up the water 
that was in the trench. And when the people saw it, they fell on 
their faces, and they cried, "The Lord, he is God! The Lord, he is 
God!" And Elijah said to the people, " Seize the prophets of Baal; 
let not one of them escape!" 

They took them all, four hundred and fifty men; and by 
Elijah's command they brought them down to the dry bed of the 
brook Kishon, at the foot of the mountain ; and there Elijah caused 
them to be put to death, because they had led Israel into sin. 

Ahab, the king, was present upon Mount Carmel, and saw all 
that had been done. Elijah now said to Ahab, "Rise up; eat and 
drink; for there is a sound of a great rain." 

While Ahab was eating and drinking, Elijah was praying upon 
Mount Carmel. He bowed down, with his face between his knees, 
and prayed to the Lord to send rain. After a time he sent his 
servant up to the top of the mountain, saying, "Go up and look 
toward the sea." 

The servant went up, and came back, saying, "I can see 
nothing." 

Elijah sent him up seven times; and at the seventh time his 
servant said, " I see a cloud rising out of the sea as small as a man's 
hand." 



Elijah at Prayer 



371 



Then Elijah sent to Ahab, saying, " Hasten ; make ready your 
chariot before the rain stops you." 

In a little while the sky was covered with black clouds, and 
there came a great rain. And Ahab rode in his chariot to his palace 



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Elijah's sacrifice on mount carmel. 



at Jezreel, on the eastern side of the great plain. And the power 
of the Lord was on Elijah, and he ran before Ahab's chariot to the 
gate of the city. 

Thus in one day a great victory was wrought for the Lord God, 
and the power of Baal was thrown down. 



Story $ive. 



THE VOICE THAT SPOKE TO ELIJAH 
IN THE MOUNT. 

I Kings xix : i to 21. 




( HEN King Ahab told his wife, Queen Jezebel, of all 
that Elijah had done; how the fire had fallen from 
heaven upon his altar, and how he had slain all the 
prophets of Baal with the sword, Queen Jezebel was 
very angry. She sent a messenger to Elijah with 
these words : 

"May the gods do to me as you have done to the prophets of 
Baal, if I do not by to-morrow kill you, as you have killed them!" 

Elijah saw that his life was in danger, and he found that not 
one man in all the kingdom dared to stand by him against the hate 
of Queen Jezebel. He rose up, and ran away to save his life. He 
went southward to the land of Judah, but did not feel safe even 
there. He hastened across Judah southward to Beersheba, which 
is on the edge of the desert, eighty miles away from Samaria. But 
not even here did Elijah dare to stay, for he still feared the wrath 
of Queen Jezebel. He left his servant at Beersheba, and went out 
alone into the desert, over which the children of Israel had wan- 
dered five hundred years before. After he had walked all day 
under the sun, and over the burning sand, he sat down to rest under 
a juniper-tree. He was tired, and hungry, and discouraged. He 
felt that his work had all been in vain, that in heart the people were 
still worshippers of Baal ; and he felt, too, that he had shown weak 
ness in running away from his place of duty in fear of Queen Jezebel. 
Elijah cried out to the Lord, and said, "O Lord, I have lived long 
enough ! Take away my life, O Lord, for I am no better than my 
people!" Then, tired out, he lay down to sleep under the tree. 
But the Lord was very kind to Elijah. While he was sleeping 
an angel touched him, and said, "Arise, and eat." 

(37 2 ) 



Elijah at Mount Horeb 



373 



He opened his eyes, and saw beside him a little fire, with a loaf 
of bread baking upon it, and near it a bottle of water. He ate and 
drank, and then lay down to sleep again. A second time he felt the 
angel touch him, and he heard a voice say, "Arise, and eat; because 
the journey is too long for you." 

He arose, and ate once more. Then he went on his way, and 
in the strength 
given him by 
that food he 
walked forty 
days through 
the desert. 
He came at 
last to Mount 
Horeb, the 
mountain 
where Moses 
saw the burn- 
ing bush, and 
where God 
spoke forth 
the words of 
the Ten Com- 
mandment s. 
(See Stories 
Twenty-one 
and Twenty- 
five in Part 
First.) Elijah 
found a cave 
in the side of 

the mountain, and went into it to rest. While he was in the cave 
he heard God's voice speaking to him, and saying, "What are you 
doing here, Elijah?" 

And Elijah said to the Lord, " O Lord God, I have been very 
earnest for thee; for the people of Israel have turned away from 
their promise to serve thee; they have thrown down thine altars, 
and have slain thy prophets with the sword ; and now I, even I only 
am left ; and they are seeking my life, to take it away," 




AN ANGEL TOUCHED ELIJAH. 



374 The Voice that Spoke to Elijah 

Then the Lord said to Elijah, "Go out and stand upon the 
mountain before the Lord." 

Then, while Elijah was standing upon the mountain, a great 
and strong wind swept by and tore the mountains apart, and broke 
the rocks in pieces ; but the Lord was not in the wind. Then came 
an earthquake, shaking the mountains; but the Lord was not in 
the earthquake. And after the earthquake a .fire passed by ; but 
the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire there was silence 
and stillness, and Elijah heard a low, quiet voice which he knew 
was the voice of the Lord. 

Then Elijah wrapped his face in his mantle, for he feared to 
look upon the form of God, and he stood at the opening of the cave. 
The voice said to him, " What are you doing here, Elijah? " 

And Elijah said, as he had said before, " O Lord, I have been 
very earnest for thee; for the people of Israel have turned away 
from their promise to serve thee; they have thrown down thine 
altars, and have slain thy prophets with the sword; and now I, 
even I only, am left ; and they are seeking my life, to take it away." 

Then the Lord said to Elijah, " Go back to the land from which 
you have come, and then go to the wilderness of Damascus, and 
anoint Hazael to be king over Syria ; and Jehu, the son of Nimshi, 
you shall anoint to be king over Israel; and Elisha, the son of 
Shaphat, of the village of Abel-meholah, in the land of Manasseh, 
west of Jordan, you shall anoint to take your place as prophet. And 
it shall come to pass that those who escape from the sword of Hazael, 
Jehu shall slay, and those that escape from the sword of Jehu shall 
Elisha slay. But there will be found some, even seven thousand 
men in Israel, who have not bowed the. knee to Baal or kissed his 
image with their lips." 

Here were tasks that would take all the rest of Elijah's life; 
for, as we shall see, some of them were not completed until after 
Elijah had passed away, though Elijah prepared the way for them. 
But they gave to Elijah what he needed most, work to do ; a friend 
to stand beside him, so that he would no longer be alone ; one also 
who could carry on his work after him ; and the knowledge that he 
had not lived in vain, since there were still in the land seven 
thousand men faithful to the Lord God of Israel. 

One of these commands Elijah obeyed at once. He left Mount 
Horeb, journeyed northward through the wilderness, across the king- 



Elisha Follows Elijah 



375 



dom of Judah, and into the land of Israel. He found Abel-meholah, 
in the tribe-land of Manasseh on the west of Jordan, and there he 
saw Elisha, the son of Shaphat. Elisha was plowing in the field, 
with twelve yoke of oxen in front of him ; for Elisha was a rich man's 
son, and cared for a large farm. 

Elijah came to the field where Elisha was at work, and without 
a word, took off his own mantle of skin, and threw it upon Elisha 's 
shoulders, and walked away. Elisha knew well who this strange, 
rough, hair-covered 
man was; and he 
knew, too, what it 
meant when Elijah 
cast his mantle 
upon him. It was 
a call for him to 
leave his home, to 
go out into the 
wilderness with 
Elijah, to take up 
the life of a pro- 
phet, to face the 
danger of the 
queen's hate, and 
perhaps to be slain, 

as many prophets had been slain before. But Elisha was a man 
of God, and he did not hesitate to obey God's call. He left his 
oxen standing in the field; he ran after Elijah, and said to him, 
"Let me kiss my father and my mother, and then I will go with 
you." 

Elijah said to him, " Go back, if you wish ; for what have I done 
to you?" 

Then Elisha went back to the field, killed the oxen, made a fire 
with the yokes and the wooden plow, roasted the flesh of the oxen 
on the fire, and gave them to be eaten by the people on the farm. 
This he did to show that he had left his farm forever. Then he 
kissed his father and mother, and left them, and went forth to live 
with Elijah and to be Elijah's helper, 




ELIJAH PLACES HIS MANTLE ON ELISHA. 



Story Six. 



THE WOUNDED PROPHET AND HIS 

STORY. 

I Kings xx : i to 43. 




HE country nearest to Israel on the north was Syria, 
of which the chief city and capital was Damascus; 
and its king was named Ben-hadad. His kingdom 
was far greater and stronger than Israel; and when 
he went to make war upon King Ahab, such was the 
fear of the Israelites for the Syrians, that Ahab could bring only 
seven thousand men against the Syrian army. The host of the 
Syrians filled all the valleys and plains around Samaria ; but Ben- 
hadad and his chief rulers were drinking wine when they should 
have been making ready for the battle ; and the little army of Israel 
won a great victory over the Syrians, and drove them back to their 
own land. 

Again the Syrians came against Israel, with an army as large 
as before ; but again God gave to Ahab and the Israelites a victory, 
and the Syrian army was destroyed. King Ben-hadad fled away 
to his palace, and King Ahab might easily have taken him prisoner 
and conquered all Syria. If he had done this, all danger from that 
land might have been forever removed. But Ben-hadad dressed 
himself in sackcloth, and put a rope around his waist, and came as 
a beggar to Ahab, and pleaded with him for his life and his king- 
dom. Ahab felt very proud to have so great a king as Ben-hadad 
come kneeling before him. He spared his life, and gave him back 
his kingdom. This was not wise; and God soon showed to Ahab 
what a mistake he had made. 

By this time, through the teaching of Elijah and Elisha, there 
were many prophets of the Lord in Israel. The word of the Lord 
came to one of these prophets, and he said to a fellow-prophet, 
"Strike me, and give me a wound." 

(376) 




ELIJAH AND HIS SERVANT ON MOUNT CARMEL 



The Wounded Man Calls to the King 377 



But the man would not strike him, and the prophet said, 
" Because you have not obeyed the voice of the Lord, as soon as 
you go away from me, a lion shall kill you." 

And as the man was going away, a lion rushed out upon him, 
and killed him. Then the prophet said to another man, " Strike 
me, I pray 
you!" 

The man 
struck him, 
and wounded 
him, so that 
the blood 
flowed. Then 
the prophet, 
all bloody, 
with his face 
covered, stood 
by the road as 
King Ahab 
passed by, and 
he cried out to 
the king. The 
king saw him, 
and stopped, 
and asked him 
what had hap- 
pened to him. 
Then the pro- 
phet said, "0 
king, I was in 
the battle ; 
and a soldier 
brought to me 

a prisoner, and said to me, ' Keep this man ; if you lose him, then 
your life shall go for his life, or you shall pay me a talent of silver 
for him.' And while I was busy here and there, the prisoner 
escaped. Now, king, do not let my life be taken for the man's 
life." 

But the king said, " You have given sentence against yourself, 




***Vi 



THE PROPHET MAKES HIMSELF KNOWN TO iflE KING. 



378 What Ahab Paid for His Vineyard 

and it shall be as you have said. Your life shall go for your pris- 
oner's life." 

Then the prophet threw off the covering from his face, and the 
king saw that he was one of the prophets. And the prophet said 
to the king, " Thus saith the Lord, ' Because you have let go the king 
whom I willed to have destroyed, therefore your life shall go for his 
life, and your people for his people.'" 

When Ahab heard this he was greatly troubled and displeased 
He went to his palace in Samaria full of alarm, for he saw that he 
had not done wisely for his own kingdom in sparing his kingdom's 
greatest enemy. 



Story Seven, 



WHAT AHAB PAID FOR HIS VINEYARD, 

I Kings xxi : i to 29. 




ING AHAB'S home was at Samaria, the capital of the 
kingdom. But he had also a palace at Jezreel, which 
overlooked the great plain of Esdraelon. And beside 
Ahab's palace at Jezreel was a vineyard, belonging to 
a man named Naboth. Ahab wished to own this vine- 
yard, and he said to Naboth, " Let me have your vineyard, which 
is near my house. I would like to make of it a garden for vegetables. 
I will give you a better vineyard in place of it, or I will pay you the 
worth of it in money. ' ' 

But Naboth answered the king, ''This vineyard has belonged 
to my father's family for many generations, and I am not willing 
to give it up or to leave it." 

Ahab was very angry when lie heard this. He came into his 
house, and refused to eat ; but lay down on his bed, and turned his 



Queen Jezebel's Letter 



379 



face to the wall. His wife Jezebel came to him, and said, " Why are 
you so sad? What is troubling you? " 

And Ahab answered her, " I asked Naboth to sell me his vine- 
yard, or to let me give him another vineyard for it, and he would 
not." 

Then Jezebel said to him, "Do you indeed rule over the 
kingdom of 
Israel? Rise 
up, and eat 
your dinner, 
and enjoy 
yourself. I 
will give you 
the vineyard 
of Naboth." 
Then Queen 
Jezebel sat 
d own, and 
wrote a let- 
ter in Ahab's 
name, and 
sealed it 
with the 
king's seal. 
And in the 
letter she 
wrote, " Let 
the word be 
given out 
that a meet- 
ing of the 

men of Jezreel is to be held, and set Naboth up before all the people. 
Have ready two men, no matter how worthless and wicked they 
may be, who will swear that they heard Naboth speak words of 
cursing against God and against the king. Then take Naboth 
out, and stone him with stones until he is dead." 

Such was the fear of Queen Jezebel among all the people, that 
they did as she gave command. They held a meeting, and set 
Naboth up in presence of the people; then they brought in twc 




AHAB AND NABOTH. 



380 What Ahab Paid for His Vineyard 

men, who told lies, declaring that they had heard Naboth speak 
words of cursing against God and against the king ; and then they 
dragged Naboth out of the city, and stoned him, and killed him. 
Afterward they sent word to Queen Jezebel that Naboth was dead, 
and Jezebel said to Ahab, " Now you can go and take as your own 
the vineyard of Naboth in Jezreel; for Naboth is no longer living; 
he is dead." 

Then Ahab rode in his chariot from Samaria to Jezreel, and 
with him were two of his captains, one named Jehu, and another 
named Bidkar. Just as they were riding in the vineyard that had 
been Naboth's, suddenly Elijah, the prophet, with his mantle of 
skin, stood before them. 

Ahab was startled as he saw Elijah, and he called out, "Have 
you found me, O my enemy?" 

"I have found you," answered Elijah, "because you have sold 
yourself to do evil in the sight of the Lord. In the place where 
dogs licked up the blood of Naboth, shall dogs lick up your own 
blood. I will bring evil upon you, and will sweep you away; and 
1 will cut off every man-child from Ahab ; and I will make your 
family like the family of Jeroboam, who made Israel to sin. And 
because your wife, Jezebel, has stirred you up to sin, she shall die, 
and the wild dogs of the city shall eat the body of Jezebel by the 
wall of Jezreel." 

When Ahab heard these words of Elijah he saw how wickedly 
he had acted, and he felt sorrow for his sin. He put on sackcloth, 
and fasted, and sought for mercy. And the word of the Lord came 
to Elijah, saying, "Do you see how Ahab has humbled himself 
before me, and shows sorrow for his sin? Because of this, I will not 
bring the evil in his lifetime, but after he is dead, I will bring it upon 
his children." 



Story (£tc#t. 



THE ARROW THAT KILLED A KING. 

I Kings xxii : i to 40. 




FTER the two victories which King Ahab gained over 
the Syrians (see Story Six in this Part), there was 
peace between Syria and Israel for three years. But 
in the third year the Syrians became strong once 
more, and they seized a city of Israel on the east of 
Jordan, called Ramoth-gilead. At that time there was peace and 





ELIJAH MEETS KING AHAB AT THE GATE. 

friendship between the kingdoms 
of Israel and Judah ; and Ahab, 
the king of Israel, sent to Jeho- 
shaphat, the king of Judah, say- 
ing, " Do you know that Ramoth- 
gilead is ours, and yet we have 
done nothing to take it out of 
the hands of the king of Syria? 
(381) 



382 The Arrow that Killed a King 

Will you go up with me to battle at Ramoth-gilead?" And King 
Jehoshaphat sent word to the king of Israel, "I am with you, and 
my people are with your people, and my horses with your 
horses." 

So the king of Israel and the king of Judah gathered their 
armies for war against the Syrians, and King Jehoshaphat came to 
Samaria to meet King Ahab. Jehoshaphat was a good man, and a 
worshipper of the Lord. He said to Ahab, " Let us ask the prophets 
to give us the word of the Lord before we go to battle." 

Then the king of Israel called together his prophets, four hun- 
dred men, not prophets of the Lord, but false prophets of the idols, 
and he asked them, " Shall I go up to battle at Ramoth-gilead, or 
shall I remain at home?" And the prophets of the idols said, with 
one voice, "Go up; for the Lord will give Ramoth-gilead to 
you." 

But Jehoshaphat was not satisfied with the words of these 
men. He asked, " Is there not here a prophet of the Lord, of whom 
we can ask the Lord's will?" 

" There is one prophet," answered Ahab ; " his name is Micaiah, 
the son of Imlah ; but I hate him ; for he never pronhesies any good 
about me, but always evil." 

" Let not the king say that," said Jehoshaphat. " Let us hear 
what Micaiah will speak." 

Then King Ahab sent one of his officers to bring the prophet 
Micaiah. And the officer said to Micaiah, "All the prophets have 
spoken good to the king; now, I pray you, let your words be like 
theirs, and do you speak good also." 

And Micaiah said, "As the Lord lives, what the Lord says to 
me, that I will speak, and nothing else." 

The king of Israel and the king of Judah were seated together 
in their royal robes, at an open place in front of the gate of Samaria. 
And King Ahab said to Micaiah, " Micaiah, speak to me nothing but 
the truth, in the name of the Lord." 

Then Micaiah said, "I saw all Israel scattered upon the moun- 
tains, as sheep that have no shepherd; and the Lord said; 'These 
have no master; let every man go back to his own house." 

Then the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, "Did I not tell 
you that Micaiah would prophesy about me no good, but only 
evil?" 



The Two Kings in the Battle 383 

For Ahab knew that the words of Micaiah meant that x±e would 
be slain in the battle. 

And Micaiah went on and said, "Hear thou the word of the 
Lord; I saw the Lord sitting on his throne, and all the host of 
heaven standing around him, on his right hand and on his left. And 
the Lord said, ' Who will go and deceive Ahab, so that he will go up 
and fall at Ramoth-gilead?' And one spirit came forth and said, ' I 
will go, and will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all Ahab's prophets.' 
And the Lord said to the spirit, ' Go and deceive him.' Now, there- 
fore, the Lord has let all these false prophets deceive you ; and the 
Lord has spoken evil against you." 

Then the king of Israel said to his guards, "Take Micaiah, and 
lead him to the governor of the city, and say, 'Put this fellow in 
prison, and let him have nothing to eat but dry bread and water 
until I come again in peace.' ' 

And Micaiah said, " If you return at all in peace, then the Lord 
has not spoken by me. Hear my words, all ye people." 

So the kings of Israel and Judah led their armies across the 
river Jordan and up the mountains on the east, to battle at Ramoth- 
gilead. Ahab felt afraid after the prophecy of Micaiah, and he said 
to Jehoshaphat, " I will dress as a common soldier before going into 
the battle ; but do you wear your royal robes." 

Now the king of Syria had given word to all his captains to look 
out especially for the king of Israel, and to fight him, and kill him, 
even if they should kill no other man. When they saw Jehoshaphat 
in his kingly garments standing in his chariot, they thought that he 
was King Ahab, and they turned all the battle toward him. But 
Jehoshaphat cried out, and then they found that he was not the 
king of Israel, and they left him. In the battle one soldier of the 
Syrians drew his bow, and shot an arrow, not knowing that he 
was aiming at the king of Israel. The arrow struck King Ahab 
just between his breastplate and his lower armor. He was badly 
wounded, but they held him up in his chariot, so that the men 
might not see him fall ; and his blood was running out of the wound 
upon the floor of the chariot, until the sun set, when Ahab died. 
And the cry went through all the host of Israel, "Everyman to 
his city, and every man to his country." 

And then all knew that the king of Israel was dead.. They 
brought his body to Samaria, and buried him there. And at the 



384 Elijah's Chariot of Fire 

pool of Samaria they washed the king's chariot and his armor. And 
there the wild dogs of the city licked up Ahab's blood, according to 
the word of the Lord spoken by Elijah. 

Thus died King Ahab, the son of Omri. He was not a bad man 
at heart, but he was weak in the hands of his wife, Jezebel, who led 
him and his kingdom into wickedness in the sight of the Lord. 



tory Hine. 



ELIJAH'S CHARIOT OF FIRE, 

II Kings i : 1, to ii : 15. 




FTER the death of Ahab, his son Ahaziah reigned 
for only two years as king of Israel. He fell out of a 
window in his palace, and was injured so that he died ; 
and as he had no son, his brother, Jehoram, became 
king in his place. 
The work of Elijah, the prophet, was now ended, and the Lord 
was about to take him up to heaven. Elijah and Elisha went 
together to a place called Gilgal, not the place beside the river Jor- 
dan where the army of Israel was encamped under Joshua (see Part 
Second, Stories Two and Three), but another place of the same name 
among the mountains, not far from Bethel. And Elijah said to 
Elisha, "Stay here, I pray you, for the Lord has sent me to 
Bethel." 

Elisha knew that Elijah would be taken from him very soon, 
and he said, "As surely as the Lord lives, and as your soul lives, I 
will not leave you." 

So Elijah and Elisha walked together to Bethel. At Bethel 
were living many worshippers of the Lord, who were called " sons 
of the prophets," because they followed the teaching of the prophets, 



Elijah and Elisha Walk Together 



3S5 



and some of them became prophets themselves. These men came 
to Elisha, and said to him, " Do you know that the Lord will take 
away your master from you very soon?" 

And Elisha answered them, "Yes, I know it; but hold your 
peace; do not speak of it." 

And at Bethel Elijah said to Elisha again, "Elisha, stay here; 
for the Lord has 
sent me to Jeri- 
cho." But Elisha 
answered him, 
"As surely as the 
Lord lives, and as 
your soul lives, 
I will not leave 
you." 

So Elijah and 
Elisha walked to- 
gether down the 
steep road from 
Bethel to Jericho. 
And at Jericho 
the followers of 
the prophets 
came to Elisha, 
and said to him, 
"Do you know 
that the Lord 
will take your 
master away from 
you to-day?" 

And he an- 
swered them, 
' * Yes, I know it ; 
but hold your peace, and say nothing." And Elijah said to him 
again, " Stay here at Jericho, I pray you, for the Lord has sent me 
to the river Jordan." 

But Elisha said to Elijah once more, " As surely as the Lord 
lives, and as your soul lives, I will not leave you." 

So Elijah and Elisha walked from Jericho to the river Jordan, 




ELIJAH STRIKES THE WATER WITH HIS MANTLE. 



386 Elijah's Chariot of Fire 

about five miles. About fifty men of the sons of the prophets 
who lived at Jericho followed them at a distance. When they 
came to the bank of Jordan, Elijah took his mantle, and wrapped 
it together, and struck the waters. Then the waters were divided 
on each side, and a path was made across the river ; and the two 
prophets walked across on dry ground. And as they walked, Elijah 
said, "Ask what I shall do for you, before I am taken away from 
you." 

Elisha answered him, "All that I ask is that your spirit shall 
come upon me in greater power than comes upon any other man.'* 

And Elijah said to him, " You have asked a great blessing; and 
if you see me when I am taken away, it shall come to you ; but if 
you do not see me, it shall not come." 

And as they still went on, and talked, suddenly a chariot of fire 
and horses of fire came between them, and parted them; and Elijah 
went up in a whirlwind on the fiery chariot to heaven. 

And Elisha saw him going up toward heaven, and he cried out, 
" O my father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen 
thereof!" 

He meant that in losing Elijah the kingdom had lost more than 
an army of chariots and horsemen. After this he saw Elijah no 
more ; but he caught up the mantle of Elijah which had fallen from 
him. With the mantle he struck the waters of Jordan, saying, 
"Where now is the Lord God of Elijah?" 

And as he struck the water with Elijah's mantle it parted on 
either side, and Elisha walked across the Jordan. The sons of the 
prophets who were standing near the river had not seen Elijah go 
up ; but now they saw Elisha walking through the river alone, and 
they felt that God had taken Elijah away. They said, " The spirit 
of Elijah now rests upon Elisha," and they came to meet him, and 
i bowed down before him as their chief. So Elijah was taken away, 
but Elisha stood in his place as the Lord's prophet. 



Story Cert. 



A. SPRING SWEETENED BY SALT; AND 

WATER THAT LOOKED LIKE 

BLOOD. 

II Kings ii : 19, to iii : 27. 




FTER Elijah had been taken up to heaven, Elisha 
stayed for a time at Jericho ; for, unlike Elijah, Elisha 
did not live in the wilderness, away from the people. 
He lived in the cities, and helped many by the power 
which the Lord gave to him. 

The people of Jericho said to Elisha, "This city stands in a 
pleasant place ; but the water of its spring is very bitter, and causes 
disease and death; and the land around it is barren, giving no 
fruit." 

Elisha said to them, " Bring me a small new bottle, and fill it 
with salt." 

They brought it to him, and he poured the salt into the foun- 
tain that gave water to the city, and said : 

" Thus saith the Lord, ' I have healed these waters ; from them 
there shall no more be death or unfruitfulness to the land.' " 

And the waters became pure and sweet from that time onward. 
Many believe that the fountain which still flows at the foot of the 
mountain near the ruins where once stood Jericho is the one which 
was healed by the prophet; and it is called "The Fountain of 
Elisha." 

At this time Jehoram, the son of Ahab, was king of Israel. He 
reigned twelve years, not so wickedly as his father Ahab had ruled, 
but still doing evil in the sight of the Lord. From the days of King 
David the land of Moab, on the east of the Dead Sea, had been under 
the control of Israel. The land was governed by its own king, but 
he paid every year a large sum to Israel. The king of Moab in 
the times of Ahab and Jehoram was named Mesha. He had great 

(387) 



388 Spring Sweetened by Salt; Water Like Blood 

flocks of sheep, and he paid to the king of Israel every year the wool 
of a hundred thousand sheep and of as many rams. 

When King Ahab was dead, the king of Moab rose against 
Israel, and tried to set his land free. Then King Jehoram sent for 
King Jehoshaphat of Judah, and these two kings gathered their 
armies, and made war on Mesha, the king of Moab. They led their 
armies southward through Judah, and then through Edom, on the 
south of the Dead Sea, and from Edom into the land of Moab ; and 
with them was the king of Edom, who was under the king of Judah. 

While they were on their march they found no water, either for 
the army or for the horses. And the king of Israel said, "Alas! 
The Lord has brought together these three kings, only to let them 
fall into the hands of the king of Moab!" 

But the good King Jehoshaphat said, "Is there not here a 
prophet of the Lord, so that we may ask of him to show us the Lord's 
will?" 

And one man said, "Elisha, the son of Shaphat, is here; the 
man who poured water on the hands of Elijah, and was his servant." 

And Jehoshaphat said, "The word of the Lord is with him; 
let us see him." 

And the three kings went to find Elisha ; but Elisha said to the 
king of Israel, " Why do you come to me? Go to the idol-prophets 
of your father Ahab and your mother Jezebel, and ask them!" 

And the king of Israel said to Elisha, "You must help us; for 
the Lord has brought these three kings together, to let them fall 
into the hands of the king of Moab." 

Then said Elisha, "As surely as the Lord of hosts lives, before 
whom I stand, if Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, were not here, I 
would not look on you nor speak to you. But now bring me one 
who can play on the harp, a minstrel." 

And while the minstrel made music on his harp, the power of 
the Lord came upon Elisha, and he said, "Thus saith the Lord, 
1 Make this valley full of ditches. For the Lord tells me that you 
shall not see any rain, nor hear any wind, yet the valley shall be 
filled with water; and you shall drink, and your cattle and your 
horses also shall drink. And the Lord shall give the Moabites into 
your hand ; and you shall take their cities, and cut down their trees, 
and stop their wells, and shall conquer their land." 

And it came to pass as Elisha had said. They dug ditches in 



The Great Victory Over the Moabites 389 



the valley, and the next morning they found them full of water, 
enough for all the host. And when the men of Moab saw the water 
in the light of the sun, it was red like blood. They said, one to 
another, "That is blood; the three kings have quarreled, and their 
armies have killed each other; now, men of Moab, hasten to take 
the camp of the three kings, and all the treasure that is in it!" 

So the men of Moab came rushing unguarded and without their 
arms. But the 
army of Israel, 
and of Judah, 
and of Edom, 
met them, and 
slew them, and 
won over them 
a great victory. 
From that 
place they 
went on laying 
waste the land 
of Moab, until 
the cities were 
taken, and the 
whole land was 
made desolate. 
And Mesha, the 
king of Moab, 
was in such 
distress, that, 
hoping to 
please the god 

of his land, who was called Chemosh, he took his oldest son, who 
was to have reigned in his place, and killed him, and offered him up 
as a burnt-offering. But all was in vain, for the Moabites were 
still held under the power of the Israelites. The story of this war 
between Israel and Moab is written not only in the second Book of 
Kings in the Bible, but also on a stone pillar, which was set up by 
the king of Moab afterward. This pillar was found in the land of 
Moab not many years ago, and the writing upon it was read, show- 
ing that the history of this war as given in the Bible is true. 




ELISHA S FOUNTAIN. 



Story <£ler»en. 



THE POT OF OIL AND THE POT 
OF POISON. 

II Kings iv : i to 7 ; iv : 38 to 44 ; vi : 1 to 7. 




N many places in the land of Israel there were living 
families of people who listened to the teaching of 
the prophets, and worshipped the Lord. They were 
among the seven thousand in Israel who never bowed 
their knees to the images of Baal, as we read in Story 
Five of this Part. Elisha went through the land meeting these 
people, and teaching them, and leading them in their worship. 
They were called the "sons of the prophets," and among them 
were some to whom God spoke, men who themselves became 
prophets of the Lord. 

The wife of one of these men, the sons of the prophets, came 
one day to Elisha, and said, " man of God, my husband is dead ; 
and you know that he served the Lord while he lived. He was 
owing some money when he died; and now the man to whom he 
owed it has come, and he says that he will take my two sons to be 
his slaves, unless I pay the debt." 

For in those lands, when a man owed a debt, he could be sold, 
or his children, that the debt might be paid. Elisha said to the 
woman, "What shall I do to help you? What have you in the 
house?" 

"I have nothing in the house," answered the woman, "except 
a pot of oil." 

Then Elisha said to her, " Go to your neighbors and borrow of 
them empty jars, and vessels, and bowls; borrow a great many. 
Then go into the room, and shut the door upon yourself and your 
sons; and pour out the oil into the vessels, and as each vessel is 
filled set it aside." 

The woman went out, and borrowed of all her neighbors 

(390) 



How the Poisoned Food was Made Good 391 

vessels that would Hold oil, until she had a great many. Then 
she went into the house, and shut the door, and told her sons to 
bring the vessels to her one by one ; and she poured out oil, filling 
vessel after vessel until all were full. At last they said to her, ; 
"There is not another vessel that can hold oil." 

And then the oil stopped running. If she had borrowed 
more vessels there would have been more oil. She came and told 
Elisha, the man of God; and he said, " Go and sell the oil; pay the 
debt, and keep the rest of the money for yourself and your sons to 
live upon." 

At another time Elisha came to Gilgal among the mountains, 
near Bethel, and with him were some of these men, the sons of the 
prophets. It was a time when food was scarce, and they sought in 
the field for vegetables and green things to be eaten. One man by 
mistake brought a number of wild gourds, which were poisonous, 
and threw them into the pot to be cooked with the rest of the food. 

While they were eating they felt suddenly that they had been 
poisoned, and they cried out, " O man of God, there is death in the 
pot! The food is poisoned!" 

Then Elisha took some meal, and threw it into the pot with 
the poisoned food. And he said, "Now take the food out of the 
pot, and let the people eat of it." 

They did so ; and there was no longer any poison in the food. 

At one time a man came bringing to the prophet a present of 
loaves of barley-bread, and some ears of new corn in the husks. 
There were with Elisha that day a hundred men of the sons of the 
prophets, and Elisha said to his servant, "Give this to the people 
for their dinner." 

The servant said, "What, should I give this for a meal to a 
hundred men?" 

And Elisha said, "Yes, set it before them, and let them eat. 
For thus saith the Lord, ' They shall eat, and shall have enough, and 
shall leave some of it." 

So he gave them the food ; and every man took as much as he 
wished, and some was left over, according to the word of the Lord. 

Once a company of these sons of the prophets went down from 
the mountains to a place near the river Jordan, and began to build 
a house ; and Elisha was with them. As one of the men was cutting 
down a tree the head fell off from his axe, and dropped into the 



392 The Little Boy at Shunem 

water. In those times iron and steel were very scarce and costly. 
The man said, " my master, what shall I do? for this was a bor- 
rowed axe!" 

Then Elisha asked to be shown just where the axe-head had 
fallen into the water. He cut off a stick of wood, and threw it into 
the water at the place. At once the iron axe-head rose to the sur- 
face of the water, and floated, as if it were wood. The prophet said, 
" Reach out and take it," and the man took the iron, fitted it to the 
handle, and went on with his work. 

By these works of power all the people came to know that 
Elisha was a true prophet of the Lord, and spoke as with the voice 
of the Lord to Israel. 



Story Ctpefoe,. 



THE LITTLE BOY AT SHUNEM, 

II Kings iv : 8 to 37. 




HE prophet Elisha went through the land of Israel, 
meeting in many places the people who worshipped 
the Lord, and teaching them. On one of his journeys 
he visited the little city of Shunem, which was on a 
hill looking over the great plain of Esdraelon from the 
east. A rich woman who was living in that place asked him to 
come to her house, and to take his meals there whenever he journeyed 
by. So, as often as Elisha came to Shunem on his journeys, he 
stopped for a meal or a night at this woman's home. After a time 
the lady said to her husband, " I see that this is a holy man of God 
who comes to our house so often. Let us build a little room for 
him on the side of the house ; and let us place in the room for him a 



The Promise to the Woman of Shunem 393 

bed, and a table, and a stool, and a candlestick ; so that when he 
comes it will be a home for him, and he can sleep there." 

So they built the room, and as often as Elisha passed by he 
stayed there with his servant, the man who waited on him, as 
Elisha himself in other days had waited upon Elijah. The servant's 
name was Gehazi. At one time Elisha said to the woman, "You 
have been very kind to me and to my helper, and have done much 
for us. Now, what can I do for you? Shall I ask the king to show 
you some favor? Or would you like anything that the chief of the 




ELISHA LAYS HIS FACE ON THE CHILD'S FACE 



army can do for you?" The woman said, "I live among my own 
people, and there is nothing else that I wish." Then Gehazi said 
to Elisha, "This woman has no son." And Elisha said to her, "A 
year from this time, God will give to you a little boy." 

The promise made the woman very happy; but she could 
scarcely believe it to be true, until the little child came. He grew 
up, and became old enough to go with his father out into the field 
among the men who were reaping grain. Suddenly, in the field, the 
child cried out to his father, " O my head, my head! " 

His father saw that he was very ill, and he told one of his men 
to take him to his mother. He lay in his mother's arms until noon. 



394 The Little Boy at Shunem 

and then he died. The mother did not tell her husband that the 
boy was dead; but she rode as quickly as she could go to the 
prophet, who was on the other side of the plain, near Mount Carmel. 

While she was yet far off, Elisha saw her coming, and he said 
to Gehazi, his servant, "Run to meet this lady of Shunem, and ask 
her, ' Is it well with you? Is it well with your husband? Is it well 
with the child?' " 

She answered, " It is well;" but she did not stop until she met 
the prophet, and then she fell down before him and took hold of his 
feet. Gehazi, the prophet's servant, did not think it was proper 
for her to seize him in this manner, and was about to take her away. 
But Elisha said to him, "Let her alone, for she is in deep trouble; 
and the Lord has hid it from me, and has not told me." 

And the woman said, " Did I ask for a son ? Did I not say, ' Do 
not deceive me?' Then Elisha knew what had taken place. He 
said to Gehazi, "Take my staff, and go at once to this woman's 
house. If you meet any man, do not stop to speak to him ; and if 
any one speaks to you, do not stop to answer him. But go, and lay 
my staff on the face of the child." 

But the mother was not content to have the servant only go to 
her house. She wanted Elisha himself to go; and she said, "As 
surely as the Lord lives, and as your soul lives, I will not leave you." 

Then Elisha followed her back to Shunem, across the plain. 
On the way they met Gehazi coming back. He had laid the staff, 
as he had been told to lay it, on the face of the child ; and he said, 
"The child is not awaked." 

When Elisha came he found the child dead, and laid upon the 
bed in the prophet's room, the staff upon his face. He shut the 
door, and prayed beside the bed to the Lord. And after his prayer, 
he lay with his face upon the child's face, and his hands on the child's 
hands ; and as he lay the child's body began to grow warm. Then 
he rose up, and walked up and down in the house ; and again he lay 
upon the child, and put his arms around him. Suddenly the child 
began to sneeze, and then he opened his eyes, alive once more. 

Elisha told his servant to call the mother, and when she came 
he said to her, "Take up your son." 

The mother saw that her son was alive from the dead ; she fell 
at Elisha 's feet to show how great was her thankfulness to him, and 
then she took her son up in her arms, and went out. 



Stovy Cfyirteert. 



HOW A LITTLE GIRL HELPED TO CURE 

A LEPER 

II Kings v : i to 27. 




|T one time, while Elisha was living in Israel, the gen- 
eral of the Syrian army was named Naaman. He was 
a great man in his rank and power; and a brave 
man in battle; for he had won victories for Syria. 
But one sad terrible trouble came to Naaman. He was 
a leper. A leper was one with a disease called leprosy, which is still 
found in those lands. The leper's skin turns a deathly white and 
is covered with scales. One by one his fingers and toes, his hands 
and feet, his arms and limbs, decay, until at last the man dies ; and 
for the disease there is no cure. Yet, strange to say, through it all, 
the leper feels no pain; and often will not for a long time believe 
that he has leprosy. 

There was in Naaman's house at Damascus, in Syria, a little 
girl, who waited on Naaman's wife. She was a slave -girl stolen 
from her mother's home in Israel, and carried away as a captive to 
Syria. Even when there was no open war between Syria and Israel, 
parties of men were going out on both sides, and destroying villages 
on the border, robbing the people, and carrying them away, to 
be killed or sold as slaves. But this little girl, even though she 
had suffered wrong, had a kind heart, full of sorrow for her master 
Naaman ; and one day she said to her mistress : 

11 1 wish that my lord Naaman might meet the prophet who 
lives in Samaria ; for he could cure his leprosy. ' ' 

Some one told Naaman what the little girl had said; and 
Naaman spoke of it to the king of Syria. Now the king of Syria 
loved Naaman greatly ; and when he went to worship in the temple 
of his god, out of all his nobles he chose Naaman as the one upon 
whose arm he leaned. He greatly desired to have Naaman's leprosy 

(395) 



396 A Little Girl Helped to Cure a Leper 

cured; and he said, "I will send a letter to the king of Israel, and 
I will ask him to let his prophet cure you." 

So Naaman, with a great train of followers, rode in his chariot 
from Damascus to Samaria, about a hundred miles. He took with 
him as a present a large sum in gold 
and silver, and many beautiful 
robes and garments. He came to 
the king of Israel, and gave him 
the letter from the king of Syria. 
And this was written in the letter : 




THE SLAVE GIRL AND NAAMAN S WIFE. 



" With this letter I have sent to you Naaman, my servant ; and 
I wish you to cure him of his leprosy." 

The king of Syria supposed that as this prophet who could cure 
leprosy was in Samaria, he was under the orders of the king of 
Israel, and must do whatever his king told him to do; and as he 



The Leper Before the Prophet's House 397 

did not know the prophet, but knew the king, he wrote to him 
But the king was greatly alarmed when he read the letter. 

1 ' Am I God, ' ' he said, * ' to kill men and to make men live ! Why 
should the king of Syria send to me to cure a man of his leprosy? 
Do you not see that he is trying to find an excuse for making war, 
in asking me to do what no man can do? " 

And the king of Israel tore his garments, as men did when they 
were in deep trouble. Elisha the prophet heard of the letter, and 
of the king's alarm, and he sent a message to the king. 

"Why are you so frightened? Let this man come to me, and 
he shall know that there is a prophet of the Lord in Israel." 

So Naaman came with his chariots, his horses, and his follow- 
ers, and stood before the door of Elisha's house. Elisha did not 
come out to meet him, but sent his servant out to him, saying : 

"Go and wash in the river Jordan seven times, and your flesh 
and your skin shall become pure, and you shall be free from the 
leprosy." 

But Naaman was very angry because Elisha had not treated 
with more respect so great a man as he was. He forgot, or he did 
not know, that by the laws of Israel no man might touch or even 
come near a leper ; and he said : 

"Why, I supposed that of course he would come out and meet 
me, and would wave his hand over the leper spot, and would call 
on the name of the Lord his God, and in that manner would cure 
my leprosy! Are not Abana and Pharpar, the two rivers of 
Damascus, better than all the waters in Israel ? May I not wash 
in them and be clean?" 

And Naaman turned and went away in a rage of anger. But 
his servants were wiser than he. They came to him, and one of 
them said: 

" My father, if the prophet had told you to do some great thing, 
would you not have done it? Then why not do it, when he says, 
'Wash and be clean'?" 

After a little Naaman's anger cooled, and he rode down the 
mountains to the river Jordan. He washed in its water seven times, 
as the prophet had bidden him. And the scales of leprosy left his 
skin ; and his flesh became like the flesh of a little child, pure and 
clean. Then Naaman, a leper no more, came back to Elisha's house 
with all his company; and he said, "Now I know that there is no 



398 A Little Girl Helped to Cure a Leper 

God in all the earth, except in Israel. Let me make you a present 
in return for what you have done for me." 

But the true prophets of God never gave their message or did 
their works for pay; and Elisha said to Naaman: 

" As surely as the Lord lives, before whom I stand, I will receive 
nothing." 

And Naaman urged him to take the present, but he refused. 
Then Naaman asked as a favor that he might be allowed to take 
away from the land of Israel as much soil as could be carried on two 
mules, with which to build an altar; for he thought that an altar 
to the God of Israel could be made only of earth from the land of 
Israel; and he said: 

"From this time I will offer no burnt-offering or sacrifice to 
any other God except the God of Israel. When I go with my master, 
the king of Syria, to worship in the temple of Rimmon his god ; and 
my master leans on my arm, and I bow down to Rimmon with him, 
then may the Lord forgive me for this, which will look as if I were 
worshipping another God." 

And Elisha said to him, "Go in peace."' 

Then Naaman went on his way back to his own land. But 
Gehazi, the servant of Elisha, said to himself: 

"My master has let this Syrian go, without taking anything 
from him; but I will run after him, and ask him for a present." 

So Gehazi ran after Naaman ; and Naaman saw him following, 
and stopped his chariot, and stepped down to meet him. And 
Gehazi said to him : 

" My master has sent me to you to say that just now two young 
men of the sons of the prophets have come to his house ; will you 
give them a talent of silver and two suits of clothing? " 

And Naaman said, "Let me give you two talents of silver." 

So he put two talents of silver in two bags, a talent in each bag, 
and gave them to Gehazi, and with them two suits of fine clothing ; 
and he sent them back by two of his servants. But before they 
came to Elisha's house, Gehazi took the gifts and hid them. Then 
Gehazi went into the house, and stood before Elisha. And Elisha 
said to him, "Gehazi, where have you been?" 

And Gehazi answered, "I have not been at any place." 

And Elisha said to him: 

" Did not my heart go with you, and did I not see you, when 



The Chariots of Fire 399 

the man stepped down from his chariot to meet you? Is this a 
time to receive gifts of money, and garments, or gifts of vineyards 
and oliveyards, and of sheep and oxen? Because you have done 
this wickedness, the leprosy of Naaman shall come upon you, and 
shall cling to you, and to your children after you forever!" 

And Gehazi walked out from Elisha's presence, a leper, with 
his skin as white as snow. 



Story fourteen. 



THE CHARIOTS OF FIRE AROUND 
ELISHA. 

II Kings vi : 8 to 23. 




HERE was constant war between Israel and Syria 
through all the years of Elisha, the prophet. And 
the king of Israel found Elisha a greater help than 
his horses and chariots. For whenever the king of 
Syria told his officers to make an attack upon any 
place in the land of Israel, Elisha would send word to the king of 
Israel, saying, " Watch carefully that place, and send men to guard 
it, for the Syrians are coming to attack it." 

And then, when the Syrian army came to the place, they were 
sure to find it strongly guarded, so that their soldiers could do noth- 
ing. This happened so many times that the king of Syria at last 
said to his nobles, " Some one among you is secretly helping the king 
of Israel, and is sending him word of all our plans. Will no one tell 
me who the traitor is?" 

And they said, " No one of us, my lord, king, has made known 
your plans ; but Elisha, the prophet that is in Israel, tells -the king 
of Israel the words that you speak in your own room." 



400 The Chariots of Fire Around Elisha 

Then the king of Syria said, " Go and find where that man is, 
so that I may send an army to take him." 

After a time the king of Syria heard that Elisha was staying in 
Dothan. Then he sent to that place a great army, with horses and 
chariots. They came by night, and stood in a great ring all around 
the city, ready to seize the prophet. In the morning the prophet's 
helper rose up early ; and he found the city surrounded on every side 
by a host of men, with swords and spears. He called Elisha, in great 
alarm, and said to him, " my master, what shall we do? " 

"Fear not," answered Elisha, " there are more men on our side 
than on theirs." 

And then Elisha prayed to the Lord, saying, " Lord, open the 
eyes of this young man, and let him see who are with us." 

Then the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw 
what other men could not see, that the mountain on which the city 
stood was covered with horses and chariots of fire, sent by the Lord 
to keep his prophet safe. But this the Syrians could not see ; and 
they came up to the gates of the city to take Elisha. Then Elisha 
prayed to the Lord, saying, " Lord, make these men blind for a little 
while." Then a mist came over the eyes of the Syrians, and they 
could not see clearly. And Elisha went out to them, and said, " This 
is not the right city, but I will show you the way. Follow me." 

And Elisha led them from Dothan to Samaria, and into the 
walls of the city, where the army of Israel were standing all around 
them. Then Elisha prayed, "O Lord, open the eyes of these men, 
that they may see." 

And the Lord opened their eyes, and they saw the walls of 
Samaria, and the host of Israel all around them. The king of Israel 
was glad to have his enemies in his power; and he said to Elisha, 
" My father, shall I kill them? Shall I kill them? " 

But Elisha said to him, "You shall not kill them. Would you 
kill helpless men whom you had taken as prisoners? Give them 
bread to eat, and water to drink, and send them home to their 
master." 

So, instead, of killing the Syrian soldiers, or holding them as 
prisoners, the king of Israel set plenty of food before them, and gave 
them all that they needed. Then he sent them home to their master, 
the king of Syria. And after that it was a long time before the 
Syrian armies came into the land of Israel. 



Story fifteen. 



WHAT THE LEPERS FOUND IN THE 

CAMP. 

II Kings vi : 24, to vii : 20. 




FTER a time there was another great war between Syria 
and Israel; and Ben-hadad, the king of Syria, led 
a mighty army into the land of Israel, and laid siege 
against the city of Samaria. So hard and so long 
was the siege that the people in Samaria could find 
nothing to eat; many died from want of food, and some killed 
their own children, and ate them. 

But through all the siege Elisha encouraged the king of Israel 
not to give up the city. When it seemed that there could be no 
hope, Elisha said to the king, " Hear the word of the Lord, ' To-mor- 
row, at this hour, in the gate of Samaria, a peck of flour shall be sold 
for sixty cents, and two pecks of barley for sixty cents.' " 

One of the nobles, on whose arm the king was leaning, did not 
believe Elisha's word, and said, scornfully, " If the Lord would make 
windows in heaven, and rain down wheat and barley, then this 
might be." ''You shall see it with your own eyes," answered 
Elisha; "but you shall not eat any of the food." 

On the next morning, about daybreak, four men that were 
lepers were standing together outside the gate of Samaria. Being 
lepers, they were not allowed by the laws of Israel inside the walls 
of the city. (We have read of leprosy and lepers in the story of 
Naaman, Story Thirteen in this Part.) These four men said to each 
other, " What shall we do? If we go into the city we must die there 
from the want of food ; if we stay here we must die. Let us go 
to the camp of the Syrians; perhaps they will let us live; and at 
the worst they can do no more than kill us." 

So the four men went toward the Syrian camp; but as they 
came near they were surprised to find no one standing on guard. 
They went into a tent, and found it empty, as though it had been 
26 (401) 



402 



Samaria Saved from the Syrians 



left very suddenly, for there were food, and drink, and garments, 
and gold, and silver. As no one was there they ate and drank all 
they needed; and then they took away valuable things and hid 
them. They looked into another tent, and another, and found 
them like the first, but not a man was in sight. They walked 
through the camp ; but not a soldier was there, and the tents were 
left just as they had been when men were living in them. 

In the night the Lord had caused the Syrians to hear a great 




THE LEPERS VISIT A TENT OF THE SYRIANS 



noise, like the rolling of chariots, and the trampling of horses, and 
the marching of men. They said to each other, in great fear, "The 
king of Israel has sent for the Hittites on the north, and the Egyp- 
tians on the south, to come against us." 

And so great and so sudden was their terror, that in the night 
they rose up and fled away, leaving everything in their camp ; even 
leaving their horses tied, and their asses, and all their treasure, and 
all their food, in their tents. 

After a time the lepers said to each other, "We do wrong not 



The Camp Left Alone 4°3 

to tell this good news in the city. If they find it out, they will blame 
11s for not letting them know, and we may lose our lives on account 
of it." 

So they went up to the gate, and called the men on guard, and 
told them how they had found the camp of the Syrians, with tents 
standing, and horses tied, but not a man left. The men on guard 
told it at the king's palace. But the king, when he heard it, thought 
that it was a trick of the Syrians to hide themselves, and to draw 
the men out of the city, so that they might take the city. 

The king sent out two men with horses and chariots, and they 
found that not only had the camp been left, but that the road down 
the mountains to the river Jordan was covered with garments, and 
arms, and treasures that the Syrians had thrown away in their wild 
flight. 

The news soon spread through the city of Samaria; and in a 
few hours all the city was at the gate And when the food was 
brought in from the camp, there was abundance for all the people. 
And it came to pass as Elisha had said, a peck of grain, and two 
pecks of barley were sold for sixty cents in the gate of Samaria by 
noon of that day. 

The king chose the noble upon whose arm he had leaned the 
day before to have charge of the gate. So he saw with his own eyes 
that which the prophet had foretold ; but he did not eat of it, for 
the crowd was so great that the people pressed upon him, and he 
was trodden under their feet, and killed in the throng. 

Thus the king and all the city of Samaria knew that Elisha had 
indeed spoken the word of the Lord. 

We have seen how different from the ways of Elijah were the 
ways of Elisha. Elijah lived alone in the wilderness, and never 
came before kings except to tell them of their evil deeds, and to 
warn them of punishment. But Elisha lived in the city, at times 
even in the city of Samaria, often sent helpful messages to the 
king, and seemed to be his friend. Both these men were needed, 
Elijah and Elisha, one to destroy the evil in the land, and the 
other to build up the good. 



Story Sixteen. 



JEHU, THE FURIOUS DRIVER OF HIS 
CHARIOT. 

II Kings viii : 7 to 15 ; ix : 1, to x : 36. 




.OU remember that when the Lord came to the pro- 
phet Elijah at Mount Horeb in the wilderness (see 
Story Five in this Part), the Lord gave to Elijah a 
command to anoint or call Hazael to be king of 
Syria, and Jehu to be king of Israel. But to pre- 
pare the way for these changes of rule a long time was needed, and 
Elijah was taken home to heaven before these men were called to 
be kings. 

The time to call these men had now come, and Elisha under- 
took the work that had been left to him by Elijah. He went to 
Damascus, the chief city of Syria : and Ben-hadad, the king of Syria, 
heard that the great prophet of Israel had come, for the fame of 
Elisha's deeds had made his name known through all those lands. 

At that time King Ben-hadad was ill; and he sent one of his 
chief princes, whose name was Hazael, to ask Elisha whether he 
would be well again. Hazael came to meet Elisha with a rich 
present, which loaded forty camels, and he spoke to Elisha with 
great respect, saying, "Your son, Ben-hadad, king of Syria, has sent 
me to you to ask, ' Shall I become well again from this sickness?' " 

And Elisha said to Hazael, " You may tell Ben-hadad that he 
will get well; nevertheless, the Lord has shown me that he will 
surely die." 

Then Elisha looked steadily upon Hazael's face, until Hazael 
felt ashamed, and Elisha wept as he looked upon him. Hazael said 
to him, "Why does my lord weep?" "I weep," said Elisha, 
"because I know the evil that you will do to the people of Israel. 
You will take their castles, and set them on fire ; you will kill their 
young men, and you will destroy their children." 

U©4) 




JEHU DRIVING HIS CHARIOT TO MEET KING JEHORAM, 



406 Jehu, the Furious Driver of His Chariot 

Hazael was surprised at this, and said, " I am nothing but a dog ; 
and how can I do such great things?" 

And Elisha answered him, "The Lord has shown me that you 
shall be king over Syria." 

Then Hazael went to King Ben-hadad, and said to him, " The 
man of God told me that you will surely be well from your sickness." 

And on the next day Hazael took the cover from the bed, and 
dipped it in water, and pressed it tightly over Ben-hadad's face, so 
that he died ; and Hazael reigned in his place as king of Syria. As 
soon as Hazael became king, he made war upon the Israelites ; and 
a battle was fought at Ramoth-gilead, the same place where King 
Ahab had been slain more than ten years before. In this battle 
Jehoram, the king of Israel, was wounded; and he was taken to 
Jezreel, beside the great plain of Esdraelon, there to recover from 
his wounds. Ahaziah, who was at that time king of Judah, and 
who was a nephew of Jehoram, went to Jezreel to visit him while 
he was ill from his wounds. 

By this time Elisha, the prophet, had returned from his visit 
to Syria. He knew that the time had now come to finish the work 
in Israel left to him by Elijah; and he called one of the sons of the 
prophets to him, and said, " Rise up, and go to the camp at Ramoth- 
gilead; and take with you this little bottle of oil. And when you 
reach Ramoth-gilead, find one of the captains of the army, Jehu, 
the son of Jehoshaphat, the son of Nimshi ; and lead him into a room 
alone, and pour the oil on his head, and say, - Thus saith the Lord, 
I have anointed you as king over Israel.' When you have done 
this, come back to me at once without waiting." 

Then the young man, who was a prophet like Elisha, took the 
bottle of oil in his hand and went to Ramoth-gilead. Ifi the camp 
of Israel he found the captains of the army sitting together. He 
came suddenly among them, and said, " captain, I have an errand 
to you." 

And Jehu, one of the captains, said to him, "To which one of 
us is your errand?" 

He said to Jehu, "My errand is to you alone, captain." 

Then Jehu went with the young prophet into the house; and 
he poured the oil on his head, and said, "Thus saith the Lord, the 
God of Israel, ' I have anointed you as king over my people Israel. 
And you shall destroy the family of Ahab, because they destroyed 



Jehu Drives to Samaria- 407 

the prophets of the Lord. And I will make the house of Ahab like 
the house of Jeroboam, who made Israel to sin. And the wild dogs 
shall eat Jezebel in the city of Jezreel, and there shall be no one to 
bury her/ " 

And after he had said this, the prophet opened the door, and 
went away as suddenly as he had come. Jehu came back to the 
other captains, and sat down again. One of the captains said to 
him, " Is all well? Why did this wild fellow call you out? " 

Jehu said to them, "You know the man, and you know what 
he said to me." 

"No, no," they all said, "we do not know. Tell us what he 
said." 

Then Jehu told them what the prophet had said, and that he 
had anointed him as king. This pleased all the captains. At once 
they took off their outer garments, and spread them as a carpet on 
the stairs of the house, and at the head of the stairs they placed 
Jehu; and they blew the trumpets and called out to the army, 
"Jehu is the king!" 

Jehu said to the captains, " Do not let any one go out of the 
camp to bear word to Jehoram. I will go myself." 

Then Jehu made ready his chariot, and rode swiftly toward 
Jezreel, his company riding after him. The watchman on the tower 
at Jezreel saw him coming, and he called out to King Jehoram, " I 
see a company coming toward the city." 

Jehoram thought that they were bearing news of the war with 
the Syrians. He sent out a man on horseback to meet the company. 
The man came, and said, "Is all well?" 

Jehu answered him, " What difference is it to you? Come after 
me. 

Then the man turned, and joined Jehu's company; and so 
did another man whom Jehoram sent when the first man did not 
return. And the watchman called out to Jehoram again, "Two 
men have gone out to meet the company that is drawing near, but 
they have not come back; and the man at the head drives like 
Jehu, the son of Nimshi, for he drives furiously." 

Then Jehoram became anxious; he sent for his chariot, and 
went out to meet Jehu ; and with him went Ahaziah, the king of 
Judah, each in his own chariot. It came to pass that they met Jehu 
in the very place which had been the vineyard of Naboth; the same 



408 Jehu, the Furious Driver of His Chariot 

place where Ahab had met Elijah, when that same Jehu was stand- 
ing behind Ahab in his chariot. (See Story Seven in this Part.) 
As Jehoram drew near to Jehu, he called to him, " Is all well, Jehu? " 

"Can anything be well," answered Jehu, "as long as your 
mother Jezebel lives, with all her wickedness?" 

When Jehoram heard this he saw that Jehu was his enemy. 
He cried out to King Ahaziah, and turned his chariot, and fled. 
But he was too late, for Jehu drew his bow with all his strength and 
sent an arrow to his heart. Jehoram fell down dead in his chariot. 
Then Jehu said to Bidkar, whom he had made his chief captain, 
" Take away the body of Jehoram, and throw it into the field where 
the body of Naboth was thrown. Do you remember how, when you 
and I were riding in the chariot behind Ahab, his father, the Lord 
said, ' I have seen the blood of Naboth on this spot, and the punish- 
ment of Ahab and his sons shall be in this place? ' " 

When Ahaziah, the king of Judah, saw Jehoram fall, he, too, 
turned and fled. But Jehu pursued him, and ordered his followers 
to kill him. So Ahaziah, the son of Jehoshaphat, and grandson of 
Ahab (for his mother, Athalish, was a daughter of Jezebel) , he also 
died at the hand of Jehu. His servants took the body of Ahaziah 
to Jerusalem, and buried it there. 

When Jehu rode into the city of Jezreel Queen Jezebel knew 
that her end had come ; but she met it boldly, like a queen. She 
put on her royal robes, and a crown upon her head, and sat by 
the window, waiting for Jehu to come. As he drew near, she 
called out to him, " Good day to you, Jehu, you who are like Zimri, 
the murderer of your master!" 

You have read of Zimri, who slew King Elah, and was himself 
burned in his palace seven days after. (See Story Three in this 
Part.) Jehu looked up to the window, and called out, "Who is on 
my side? Who?" 

And some men looked out to him, and he said, " Throw her out 
of the window." 

They threw her down, and her blood was spattered on the wall 
and on the horses. King Jehu came into the palace, and sat down 
as master, and ate and drank. Then he said, "Take up the body 
of that wicked woman, Jezebel, and bury her, for, though wicked, 
she was the daughter of a king." 

But when they looked on the pavement there was nothing left 




JEZEBEL CALLS FROM THE WINDOW TO JEHU, 



4io Jehu, the Furious Driver of His Chariot 

of her except her skull, and the bones of her feet and her hands, for 
the wild dogs of the city had eaten her body ; and thus the wicked 
life of Jezebel came to an end, and the word of the Lord by the 
prophet Elijah came to pass. And Jehu slew all the sons of Ahab,, 
and their children with them, so that not one of Ahab's family was 
left alive. When Jehu saw that he was safe and strong on the 
throne, he sent out a message to all the worshippers of Baal, the 
idol which Jezebel and the house of Ahab had brought into Israel. 
This message was, "Ahab served Baal a little, but Jehu will serve 
him much. Now, let all the priests of Baal meet in the temple of 
Baal in Samaria." 

They came by hundreds, hoping that Jehu would be their 
friend as Ahab and his family had been. But when they were all 
in the temple, he brought an army of his soldiers, and placed them 
on guard around it ; and when no one could escape, he gave the 
order, "Go into the temple and kill all the priests of Baal; let not 
one get away alive." 

And this was done in a cruel manner. He killed all the 
prophets and priests of Baal, and tore down the temple of Baal in 
Samaria. 

But though Jehu broke up the worship of Baal, he did not 
worship the Lord God of Israel as he should. He continued to serve 
the golden calves which Jeroboam had set up long before at Bethel 
and at Dan. (See Story Two in this Part.) And the Lord sent a 
prophet to Jehu, who said to him, " Because you have done my will 
in destroying the house of Ahab, and in destroying those that wor- 
shipped Baal, your children to the fourth generation shall sit on the 
throne of Israel." 

On account of the many sins of the people of Israel the Lord 
began in the days of Jehu to take away the land of the Ten Tribes. 
Hazael, the new king of Syria, made war on Jehu, and conquered 
all the land on the east of the Jordan, from the brook Amon to the 
land of Bashan in the north ; so all that was left of Israel was the 
country on the west of Jordan, from Bethel northward to Dan, 



Story Seventeen. 



ELISHA AND THE BOW; JONAH AND 
NINEVEH. 

II Kings xiii : i to 25 ; Jonah i : 1, to iv : 11. 




FTER Jehu, his son Jehoahaz reigned in Israel. He 

was not only a wicked but also a weak king; and 
under him Israel became helpless in the hands of its 
enemies, Hazael, the fierce king of Syria, and his 
son, Ben-hadad the second. But when Jehoahaz 
died, his son Joash became king, and under his rule Israel began to 
rise again. 

Elisha, the prophet, was now an old man, and very feeble, and 
near to death. The young king, Joash, came to see him, and wept 
over him, and said to him, as Elisha himself had said to Elijah 
(Story Nine in this Part), "My father, my father, you are to Israel 
more than its chariots and its horsemen!" 

But Elisha, though weak in body, was yet strong in soul. He 
told King Joash to bring to him a bow and arrows, and to open the 
window to the east, looking toward the land of Syria. Then Elisha 
caused the king to draw the bow, and he placed his hands on the 
king's hands. And as the king shot an arrow, Elisha said, "This 
is the Lord's arrow of victory, of victory over Syria, for you shall 
smite the Syrians in Aphek, and shall destroy them." 

Then Elisha told the king to take the arrows, and to strike with 
them on the ground. The king struck them on the ground three 
times, and then stopped striking. The old prophet was displeased 
at this, and said, " Why did you stop? You should have struck the 
ground five or six times; then you would have won as many vic- 
tories over Syria ; but now you shall beat the Syrians three times, 
and no more." 

Soon after this Elisha died, and they buried him in a cave. In 
the spring of the next year the bands of the Moabites came upon the 

(41O 



412 Elisha and the Bow; Jonah and Nineveh 

place just as they were burying another man, and in their haste to 
escape from the enemies they placed the body in the cave where 
Elisha was buried. When the body of this man touched the body 
of the dead prophet, life came to it, and the man stood up. Thus, 
even after Elisha was dead, he still had power. 

After the death of Elisha, Joash, the king of Israel, made war 
upon Ben-hadad the second, king of Syria. Joash beat him three 
times in battle, and took from him all the cities that Hazael, his 
father, had taken away from Israel. And after Joash, his son Jero- 
boam the second reigned, who became the greatest of all the kings 
of the Ten Tribes. Under him the kingdom grew rich and strong. 
He conquered nearly all Syria, and made Samaria the greatest city 
in all those lands. 

But though Syria went down, another nation was now rising 
to power, Assyria, on the eastern side of the river Tigris. Its capital 
was Nineveh, a great city, so vast that it would take three days for 
a man to walk around its walls. The Assyrians were beginning to 
conquer all the lands near them, and Israel was in danger of falling 
under their power. At this time another prophet, named Jonah, 
was giving the word of the Lord to the Israelites. To Jonah the 
Lord spoke, saying, " Go to Nineveh, that great city, and preach to 
it, for its wickedness rises up before me." 

But Jonah did not wish to preach to the people of Nineveh, 
for they were the enemies of his land, the land of Israel. He 
wished Nineveh to die in its sins, and not to turn to God and live. 
So Jonah tried to go away from the city where God had sent him. 
He went down to Joppa, upon the shore of the Great Sea. There 
he found a ship about to sail to Tarshish, far away in the west. He 
paid the fare, and went on board, intending to go as far as possible 
from Nineveh. 

But the Lord saw Jonah on the ship, and the Lord sent a great 
storm upon the sea, so that the ship seemed as though it would go 
in pieces The sailors threw overboard everything on the ship, and 
when they could do no more, every man prayed to his god to save 
the ship and themselves. Jonah was now lying fast asleep under 
the deck of the ship, and the ship's captain came to him, and said, 
"What do you mean by sleeping in such a time as this? Awake, 
rise up, and call upon your God. Perhaps your God will hear you, 
and will save our lives." 




KING JOASH SHOOTING THE ARROW 



The Lot Falls on Jonah 



413 



But the storm continued to rage around the ship, and they said, 
"There is some man on this ship who has brought upon us this 
trouble. Let us cast lots, and find who it is." 

Then they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah. They said to 
him, all at once, " Tell us, who are you? From what country do you' 
come? What 
is your busi- 
n e s s ? To 
what people do 
you belong? 
Why have you 
brought all 
this trouble 
upon us?" 
Then Jonah 
told them the 
whole story; 
how he came 
from the land 
of Israel, and 
that he had 
fled away 
from the pres- 
e n c e of the 
Lord. And 
they said to 
him, "What 
shall we do to 
you, that the 
storm may 
cease?" Then 
Jonah said, 

"Take me up, and throw me into the sea; then the storm will 
cease, and the waters will be calm ; for I know that for my sake 
this great tempest is upon you." 

But the men were not willing to throw Jonah into the sea. 
They rowed hard to bring the ship to the land, but they could not. 
Then they cried unto the Lord, and said, "We pray thee, O Lord, 
we pray thee, let us not die for this man's life ; for thou, O Lord, 




JONAH THROWN OVERBOARD BY THE SAILORS. 



414 Elisha and the Bow; Jonah and Nineveh 



hast done as it pleased thee." At last, when they could do nothing 
eise to save themselves, they threw Jonah into the sea. At once 
the storm ceased, and the waves became still. Then the men on 
the ship feared the Lord greatly. They offered a sacrifice to the 
Lord, and made promises to serve him. 

And the Lord caused a great fish to swallow up Jonah; and 
Jonah was alive within the fish for three days and three nights. 

Long afterward, when Jesus was on 
the earth, he said that as Jonah was 
three days inside the fish, so he would 
be three days in the earth; so Jonah 
in the fish was like a prophecy of 
Christ. In the fish Jonah cried to 
the Lord; and the Lord heard his 
prayer, and caused the great fish to 
throw up Jonah upon the dry land. 

By this time Jonah had learned 
that some men who worshipped idols 
were kind in their hearts, and were 
dear to the Lord. This was the 
lesson that God meant Jonah to 
learn ; and now the call of the Lord 
came to Jonah a second time. 

"Arise; go to Nineveh, that 
great city, and preach to it what I 
command you." 

So Jonah went to the city of 
Nineveh, and as he entered into it, 
he called out to the people, " Within 
forty days shall Nineveh be de- 
stroyed." And he walked through the city all day, crying out 
only this, "Within forty days shall Nineveh be destroyed." 

And the people of Nineveh believed the word of the Lord as 
spoken by Jonah. They turned away from their sins, and fasted, 
and sought the Lord, from the greatest of them even to the least. 
The king of Nineveh arose from his throne, and laid aside his royal 
robes, and covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes, as a sign 
of his sorrow. And the king sent out a command to his people, that 
they should fast, and seek the Lord, and turn from sin. 




JONAH AND H] 



Jonah and the Gourd 415 

And God saw that the people of Nineveh were sorry for their 
wickedness, and he forgave them, and did not destroy their city. 
But this made Jonah very angry. He did not wish to have Nineveh 
spared, because it was the enemy of his own land, and also he 
feared that men would call him a false prophet when his word did 
not come to pass. And Jonah said to the Lord : 

" O Lord, I was sure that it would be thus, that thou wouldest 
spare the city; and for that reason I tried to flee away; for I knew 
that thou wast a gracious God, full of pity, slow to anger, and rich 
in mercy. Now, O Lord, take away my life, for it is better for me 
to die than to live." 

And Jonah went out of the city, and built a little hut on the 
east side of it, and sat under its roof, to see whether God would keep 
the word that he had spoken. Then the Lord caused a plant with 
thick leaves called a gourd to grow up, and to shade Jonah from 
the sun; and Jonah was glad, and sat under its shadow. But a 
worm destroyed the plant; and the next day a hot wind blew, 
and Jonah suffered from the heat; and again Jonah wished that 
he might die. And the Lord said to Jonah, " You were sorry to see 
the plant die, though you did not make it grow, and though it came 
up in a night and died in a night. And should not I have pity on 
Nineveh, that great city, where are more than a hundred thousand 
little children, and also many cattle, all helpless and knowing 
nothing?" 

And Jonah learned that men, and women, and little children, 
are all precious in the sight of the Lord, even though they know not 
God. 

In most of the books of the Old Testament, we read of the 
Israelite people, and of God's care of them ; but we do not find in 
the Old Testament much about God as the Father of all men of 
every nation and every land. The book of Jonah stands almost 
alons in the Old Testament, as showing that God loves people of 
other nations than Israel. Even the people of Nineveh, who wor- 
shipped images, were under God's love; God was ready to hear 
their prayer and to save them. So the book of Jonah shows us 
God as " our heavenly Father." 



Story (Eighteen. 



HOW THE TEN TRIBES WERE LOST. 

II Kings xv : 8, to xvii : 41. 




HE power and peace that Judah enjoyed under Jero- 
boam the second did not last after his death. His 
great kingdom fell apart, and his son Zechariah 
reigned only six months. He was slain in the sight 
of his people by Shallum, who made himself king. 
But after only a month of rule, Shallum himself was killed by 
Menahem, who reigned ten years of wickedness and of suffering in 
the land, for the Assyrians spoiled the land and took away the riches 
of Israel. Then came Pekahiah, who was slain by Pekah, and 
Hoshea, who in turn slew Pekah. So nearly all the latter kings of 
Israel won the throne by murder, and were themselves slain. The 
land was helpless, and its enemies, the Assyrians from Nineveh, won 
victories, and carried away many of the people, and robbed those 
who were left. All these evils came upon the Israelites, because 
they and their kings had forsaken the Lord God of their fathers and 
worshipped idols. 

Hoshea was the last of the kings over the Ten Tribes ; nineteen 
kings in all, from Jeroboam to Hoshea. In Hoshea's time, the king 
of Assyria, whose name was Shalmanezer, came up with a great 
army against Samaria. He laid siege against the city; but it w r as 
in a strong place, and hard to take, for it stood on a high hill. The 
siege lasted three years, and before it was ended, Shalmanezer, the 
king of Assyria, died, and Sargon, a great warrior and conqueror, 
reigned in his place. Sargon took Samaria, and put to death Hoshea 
the last king of Israel. He carried away nearly all the people from 
the land, and led them into distant countries in the east, to Meso- 
potamia, to Media, and the lands near the great Caspian Sea. 
This Sargon did, in order to keep the Israelites from again breaking 
away from his rule. 

As in their own land the children of Israel had forsaken the 

(4*6) 



The Lions in the Land of Israel 417 

Lord and had worshipped idols, so after they were taken to these 
distant lands they sought the gods of the people among whom they 
were living. They married the people of those lands, and ceased 
to be Israelites; and after a time they lost all knowledge of their 
own God, who had given them his words and sent them his prophets. 
So there came an end to the Ten Tribes of Israel, for they never 
again came back to their own land, and were lost among the peoples 
of the far east. 

But a small part of the people of Israel were left in their own 
land. The king of Assyria brought to the land of Israel people from 
other countries, and placed them in the land. But they were too 
few to fill the land, and to care for it ; so that the wild beasts began 
to increase in Israel, and many of these strange people were killed 
by lions who lived among the mountains and in the valleys. They 
thought that the lions came upon them because they did not wor- 
ship the God who ruled in that land, and they sent to the king of 
Assyria, saying, " Send us a priest who can teach us how to worship 
the God to whom this land belongs ; for he has sent lions among us, 
and they are destroying us." 

They supposed that each land must have its own God, as the 
Philistines worshipped Dagon, and the Moabites Chemosh, and the 
Tyrians and Zidonians, Baal and the Asherah. They did not know 
that there is only one God, who rules all the world, and who is to be 
worshipped by all men. 

Then the king of Assyria sent to these people a priest from 
among the Israelites in his land ; and this priest tried to teach them 
how to worship the Lord. But with the Lord's worship, they min- 
gled the worship of idols ; and did not serve the Lord only, as God 
would have them serve him. In after time these people were called 
Samaritans, from . Samaria, which had been their chief city. They 
had their temple to the Lord on Mount Gerizim, near the city of 
Shechem, and in that city a few of them are found even in our 
time. 



Part $iitii 



Stones of tfye People anb 
Ktngbom of 3ubafy 



Stovu (Dm. 



THE FIRST FOUR KINGS OF JUDAH 

II Chronicles xii : i, to xx : 37. 




OW we turn from the story of the kingdom of Israel 
in the north to the story of the kingdom of Judah in 
the south. You read in Story One of Part Fourth 
how the Ten Tribes broke away from the rule of 
King Rehoboam and set up a kingdom of their own 
under Jeroboam. This division left the kingdom of Judah very 
small and weak. It readied from the Dead Sea westward to the 
land of the Philistines on the shore of the Great Sea, and from 
Beersheba on the south not quite to Bethel on the north ; but it 
held some control over the land of Edom on the south of the Dead 
Sea. Its chief city was Jerusalem, where stood the Temple of the 
Lord and the palace of the king. 

After Rehoboam found that he could no more rule over the 
Ten Tribes he tried to make his own little kingdom strong by build- 
ing cities and raising an army of soldiers. But he did not look to 
the Lord, as his grandfather David had looked; he allowed his 
people to worship idols, so that soon on almost every hill and in 
"almost every grove of trees there was an image of stone or wood. 
God was not pleased with Rehoboam and his people, because they 
had forsaken him for idols. He brought upon the land of Judah a 
great army from Egypt, led by Shishak, the king of Egypt. They 
marched over all the land of Judah, they took the city of Jerusalem, 
and they robbed the Temple of all the great treasure in gold and 
silver which Solomon had stored up. This evil came upon Judah 
because its king and its people had turned away from the Lord 
their God. 

After Rehoboam had reigned seventeen years he died, and his 

(421) 



422 The First Four Kings of Judah 

son Abijah became king of Judah. When Jeroboam, the king of 
Israel, made war upon him, Abijah led his army into the land of 
Israel. But Jeroboam's army was twice as large as Abijah's, and 
his men stood not only in front of the men of Judah but also behind 
them, so that the army of Judah was in great danger of being 
destroyed. But Abijah told his men to trust in the Lord, and to 
fight bravely in the Lord's name. And God helped the men of 
Judah against Israel, and they won a great victory; so that Jero- 
boam never again came against Judah. 

Abijah's reign was short, only three years; and after him came 
Asa, his son, who was a great warrior, a great builder of cities, and 
a wise ruler. Against Asa a great army of enemies came up from 
Ethiopia, which was south of Egypt. Asa drew out his little army 
against the Ethiopians at a place called Mareshah, in the south of 
Judah, near the desert. He had no hope of success in his soldiers, 
because they were so few and the enemies were so many. But Asa 
called upon the Lord, and said : 

"0 Lord, it makes no difference to thee whether there are few 
or many. Help us, Lord, for we trust in thee ; and in thy name 
we fight this vast multitude. O Lord, thou art our God; let not 
man succeed against thee." 

The Lord heard Asa's prayer, and gave him a great victory 
over the Ethiopians. Asa took again the cities in the south which 
had gone over to the side of the Ethiopians, and he brought to Jeru- 
salem great riches, and flocks of sheep, and heads of cattle, and 
camels, which he had taken from his enemies. 

Then the Lord sent to Asa a prophet named Azariah. He said, 
" Hear me, King Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin. The Lord is 
with you while you are with him. If you seek him you shall find 
him; but if you forsake the Lord he will forsake you. Now be 
strong, and put away the wickedness out of the land, and the Lord 
shall reward your work." 

Then Asa rebuilt the altar of the Lord which had fallen into 
decay, and he called upon his people to worship. He went through 
the land, and broke down the idols, and burned them. He found 
that his own mother, the queen, had made an idol, and he cut it 
down and broke it in pieces ; and he would not allow her to be queen 
any longer, because she had worshipped idols. 

Until Asa was old he served the Lord; but in his old age he 



The Good King Jehoshaphat 



423 



became sick, and in his sickness he did not seek the Lord. He 
turned to men who called themselves physicians or doctors, but 
they were men who tried to cure by the power of idols. This led 
many of Asa's people to worship images, so that when he died there 
were again idols throughout the land. 

Asa's son, Jehoshaphat, was the next king, and he was the 1 
wisest and strongest of all the kings of Judah, and ruled over the 




THE VALLEY OF JEHOSHAPHAT AT JERUSALEM AS SEEN TO-DAY. 

largest realm of any. When he became king Ahab was king of 
Israel, of whom we read in Part Fourth. Jehoshaphat made peace 
with Israel, and united with the Israelites against the kingdom of 
Syria. He fought against the Syrians in the battle at Ramoth- 
gilead, where King Ahab was slain (see Part Fourth, Story Eight), 
and afterward with Ahab's son, Jehoram, he fought against the 
Moabites. (See Part Fourth, Story Ten.) 

Jehoshaphat served the Lord with all his heart. He took away 
the idols that had again arisen in the land ; he called upon his people 



424 The First Four Kings of Judah 

to worship the Lord, and he sent princes and priests throughout all 
Judah to read to the people the law of the Lord and to teach the 
people how to serve the Lord. 

The Lord gave to Jehoshaphat great power. He ruled over the 
land of Edom, over the wilderness on the south, and over the cities 
of the Philistines upon the coast. And Jehoshaphat chose judges 
for the cities in all the land, and he said to them : 

"Remember that you are not judging for men, but for the 
Lord; and the Lord is with you, and sees all your acts. Therefore 
fear the Lord, and do his will. Do not allow men to make you 
presents, so that you will favor them; but be just toward all, and 
be strong in doing right." 

At one time news came to King Jehoshaphat that some of the 
nations on the east and south and north, Moabites, Ammonites, and 
Syrians, had banded together against him, and were encamped with 
a great army at En-gedi, near the Dead Sea. Jehoshaphat called 
forth his soldiers, but before they went to battle he led them to the 
Temple to worship the Lord. And Jehoshaphat called upon the 
Lord for help, saying: 

"O Lord, the God of our fathers, art not thou God in heaven? 
Dost thou not rule over the nations of earth? Is not power thine, 
so that none can stand against thee? Now, Lord, look upon these 
hosts who have come against thy people. We have no might 
against this great company, and we know not what to do ; but our 
eyes look toward thee for help." 

Then the Spirit of the Lord came upon one of the Levites, a 
man named Jahaziel, and he said: 

" Hear, ye men of Jerusalem and Judah, and hear, O King 
Jehoshaphat. Thus saith the Lord, 'Fear not this great host of 
your enemies, for the battle is not yours, but the Lord's. Go out 
against them ; but you will not need to fight. You shall stand still, 
and see how the Lord will save you. Do not fear, for the Lord is 
with you ! ' " 

Then Jehoshaphat and all his people worshipped the Lord, 
bowing with their faces on the ground. And the next day, when 
they marched against the enemies, the Levites walked in front, 
singing and praising the Lord, while all the people answered: 

" Give thanks to the Lord, for his mercy endureth forever." 

When the men of Judah came to the camp of their enemies, 



How the Lord Fought for Judah 



425 



they found that a quarrel had risen up among them. The Ammon- 
ites and the Moabites began to fight with the rest of the bands, and 
soon all the host were fighting and killing each other. And when 
the men of Judah 
came part of the 
host were lying 
dead, and the rest 
had fled away into 
the desert, leaving 
behind them great 
treasure. So it 
came to pass as the 
prophet Azariah 
had said, they did 
not fight, but the 
Lord fought for 
them, and saved 
them from their 
foes. 

The place where 
this strange battle 
had taken place 
they named "the 
valley of Ber- 
achah," which 
means " blessing," 
because there they 
blessed the Lord for 
the help that he had 
given them. And 
afterward they 
came back to Jerusalem with songs, and praises, and the great riches 
which they had taken. And God gave to King Jehoshaphat 
peace and rest from his enemies, and great power as long as he 
lived. 




THE PRIESTS TEACH THE PEOPLE. 



Story Ct»o. 



THE LITTLE BOY WHO WAS CROWNED 

KING. 

II Chronicles xxi : i, to xxiv : 27. 




EHOSHAPHAT, the king of Judah, was a good man 
and a wise king, but he made one mistake which 
brought great trouble upon his family and upon 
his land in after days. He married his son Jeho- 
ram to Athaliah, the daughter of Ahab and the 
wicked Jezebel. When Jehoshaphat died and Jehoram became 
king of Judah, his wife, Athaliah, led him into all the wicked- 
ness of the house of Ahab. Jehoram killed all his brothers, the 
sons of Jehoshaphat, so that no one of them might rise up against 
him. His queen Athaliah, set up idols all around Jerusalem and 
in Judah, and led the people in worshipping them. 

The prophet Elijah was still living in Israel when Jehoram 
began to reign in Judah. He sent to King Jehoram a letter con- 
taining a message from the Lord. He Avrote : 

"Thus saith the Lord, the God of David, 'Because you have 
not walked in the ways of your father, Jehoshaphat, but have 
walked in the ways of the kings of Israel, and have led the people 
of Jerusalem and of Judah to turn from the Lord to idols, and 
because you have slain your brothers, who were better than you, 
therefore the Lord will strike you and your house, and your people ; 
and you shall have a terrible disease that none can cure." 

And after this great troubles came upon Jehoram and his land. 
The Edomites on the south, who had been under the rule of Judah 
since the days of David, broke away from King Jehoram and set up 
a kingdom of their own. The Philistines on the w r est and the 
Arabians of the desert made war upon him. They broke into his 
palace, and carried away his treasures, and killed all his children 
except one, the youngest. 

(426) 



A Woman Takes the Throne 



427 



And upon Jehoram himself fell a sickness that lasted many 
years, and caused him great suffering. No cure could be found, and 
after long years of pain Jehoram died. So evil had been his reign 
of eight years that no one was sorry to have him die, and they woulc^ 
not allow his body to be buried among the kings of Judah. 

After Jehoram his youngest son, Ahaziah, became king. His 
mother was the wicked Athaliah, the daughter of Jezebel. Ahaziah 
reigned only one year; for while he was visiting King Jehoram of 

Israel, his uncle, he was slain by 
Jehu, as we read in Story Sixteen 
in Part Fourth ; for this was the 
time when Jehu rose against the 
house of Ahab, killed Jehoram, 




THE LITTLE JOASH IS CROWNED KING. 

Ahab's son, and Jezebel, Ahab's widow, and make himself king of 
Israel. But Jehu gave to the body of Ahaziah a king's burial, for 
he said, " He was the son of Jehoshaphat, who sought the Lord 
with all his heart." 

When Athaliah, the mother of Ahaziah, heard that her son was 
dead, all the fierceness of her mother Jezebel arose in her. She 
seized the princes who belonged to the family of David and killed 
them, so that there was not a man of the royal line left. And she 
made herself the queen and ruler over the land of Judah. She shut 



428 The Little Boy Who was Crowned King 

up the house of the Lord, and built a temple for Baal ; and for six 
years led the people of Judah in all wickedness. 

In the slaughter of the royal family by Athaliah one little child 
of Ahaziah had been saved alive. His name we was Joash. He was 
a baby, only a year old when his grandmother, Athaliah, seized the 
throne, and his aunt, a sister of Ahaziah and the wife of the priest 
Jehoiada, hid him in the Temple of the Lord, and kept him safe from 
the hate of Queen Athaliah. There he stayed for six years, while 
Jehoida, the priest, was preparing to make him king. 

When all things were ready, and little Joash was seven years 
old, Jehoiada, the priest, brought him out of his hiding-place, and 
set him before the people and the rulers in the temple, and placed 
the crown upon his head. Then all the people shouted, " Long live 
the king! Long live the king ! " 

Queen Athaliah heard the noise of the shouting, and came out 
of her palace to see what had taken place. She saw the little boy- 
king standing by a pillar in the Temple, with the crown upon his 
head, and around him the soldiers and the people, crying aloud, 
"Long live the king!" 

Athaliah was very angry as she saw all this. She called for 
her servants and her soldiers to break up this gathering of the 
people, and to take the boy-king. But no one would follow her, 
for they were tired of her cruel rule, and they wished to have for 
their king one who came from the line of David. 

Jehoiada said to the soldiers, "Take this woman a prisoner, 
and carry her out of the Temple of the Lord. Let not her blood 
be spilled in the holy house." 

So they seized Athaliah, and dragged her out of the Temple, 
and killed her. Then Jehoiada and all the people made a promise 
to serve the Lord only. They tore down the house of the idol Baal, 
and destroyed the images, and broke its altar in pieces. They made 
the Temple holy once more, and set the house an order, and offered 
the sacrifices, and held the daily worship before the altar. And all 
the people were glad to have a descendant of David, one of the royal 
line, once more on the throne of Judah. 

As long as Jehoiada the good priest lived, Joash ruled well, and 
his people served the Lord. When King Joash grew up he wished 
to have the Temple of the Lord made new and beautiful ; for in the 
years that had passed since the Temple had been built by Solomon, 



The Temple Made New 429 

it had grown old, and had fallen into decay. Then, too, Queen 
Athaliah and the men who worshipped Baal had broken down the 
walls in many places, and they had carried away the gold and the 
silver of the temple to rise in the worship of Baal. 

At first King Joash told the priests and Levites, who served in 
the Temple, to go through the land, and ask the people for money 
to be spent in the fitting up of the Temple. But the priests and 
the Levites were slow in the work, and the king tried another plan 
for getting the money that was needed. 

He caused a large box or chest to be made, and had it placed 
at the door of the Temple, so that all would see it when they went 
to worship the Lord. In the lid of the box was a hole through 
which they dropped money into the box. And the king caused 
word to be sent through all the land that the princes and the people 
should bring gifts of money, and drop it into the chest, whenever 
they came to the Temple. 

The people were glad, and brought their gifts willingly; for 
they all wished to have God's house made beautiful. In a short 
time the box was full of gold and silver. Then the king's officers 
opened the box, and tied up the money in bags, and placed the bags 
of money in a safe place. The box was filled with gold and silver 
many times, until there was money in abundance to pay for all the 
work needed in the Temple, and for making new ornaments of gold 
and silver for the house. 

When Jehoiada, the good priest, was very old, he died; and 
after his death there was no one to keep King Joash in the right 
way. The princes of the land loved to worship idols, and did not 
serve God, and they led King Joash into wicked ways after he had 
done so well. God was not pleased with Joash after he forsook the 
Lord, and God allowed the Syrians from the north to come upon the 
land. They robbed the cities and left Joash sick and poor. Soon, 
after the coming of the Syrians his own servants killed him, and 
made Amaziih, his son, king in his place. 



Story Cfyree. 



THREE KINGS AND A GREAT PROPHET. 

II Chronicles xxv : i, to xxviii : 27 ; Isaiah vi. 




|MAZIAH was the ninth of the kings of Judah, if the 
years of Athaliah's rule be counted as a separate 
reign. Amaziah worshipped the Lord, but he did not 
serve the Lord with a perfect heart. He gathered 
an army of three hundred thousand men, to make 
war on Edom, and bring its people again under the rule of Judah. 
He hired also an army from Israel to help him in this war ; but a 
prophet said to him, "0 king, do not let the army of Israel go 
with you against Edom, for the Lord is not with the people of 
Israel. But go with your own men, and be strong and brave; 
and the Lord will help you." 

"But how will I get back the money that I have paid to the 
army of Israel?" said Amaziah to the prophet. 

"Fear not," said the prophet; "the Lord is able to give you 
much more than you have lost." 

Then Amaziah obeyed the Lord, and sent back the men of 
Israel to their own land, and went against the Edomites with the 
men of Judah. The Lord gave him a great victory in the land of 
.Edom; Amaziah was cruel to the people whom he conquered, and 
killed very many of them in his anger. And when he came back 
from Edom, he brought with him the idol-gods of that land, and 
although they could not save their own people, Amaziah set them 
up for his own gods, and burned incense to them and bowed down 
before them. And when a prophet of the Lord came to him, and 
warned him that God was angry with him, and would surely pun- 
ish him for this wickedness, Amaziah said to the prophet, "Who 
has asked you to give advice to the king? Keep still, or you will 
be put to death!" And the Prophet answered him, "I know that 
it is God's will that you shall be destroyed, because you will not 
listen to the word of the Lord." 

(430) 



The Reign of Amaziah 



431 



Amaziah's punishment was not long delayed, for soon after 
this, he made war upon Joash, the king of Israel, whose kingdom 
was far greater and stronger than his own. We read the story of 
Joash in Part Fourth, Story Seventeen. The two armies met at 
Beth-shemesh, northwest of Jerusalem. Amaziah was beaten in a 
great battle, many of his men were slain, and Amaziah himself 
was taken prisoner by Joash, the king of Israel. Joash took the 
city of Jerusalem, and broke down the wall, and carried away all 




UZZIAH IS SMITTEN WITH LEPROSY 



the treasures in the palace and in the Temple of the Lord. 
After this Amaziah lived fifteen years, but he never gained 
the power that he had lost. His nobles made a plan to kill him, 
and Amaziah fled away from the city to escape them. But they 
caught him, and slew him, and brought his body back to Jerusalem 
to be buried in the tombs of the kings. His reign began well, but 
it ended ill, because he failed to obey the word of the Lord. 

After Amaziah came his son Uzziah, who was also called 
Azariah. He was the tenth king of Judah. Uzziah was only 



432 Three Kings and a Great Prophet 

sixteen years old when be began to reign, and he was king for 
fifty-two years. He did that which was right in the sight of the 
Lord during most of his reign. Uzziah found the kingdom weak 
and he made it strong, for the Lord helped him. He won back 
for Judah the land of the Philistines, the land of the Ammonites 
on the east of Jordan, and of the Arabians on the south. He 
built cities and made strong walls around them, with towers full 
of weapons for defence against enemies. He loved the fields, and 
planted trees and vineyards, and raised crops of wheat and barley. 

But when Uzziah was strong and rich his heart became proud, 
and he no longer tried to do God's will. He sought to have the 
power of the high-priest as well as that of the king, and he went 
into the Holy Place in the Temple to offer incense upon the golden 
altar, which was allowed to the priests only. The high-priest 
Azariah followed Uzziah into the Holy Place with the other priests, 
and said to him: 

" It is not for you to offer incense, King Uzziah, nor to come 
into the Holy Place. This belongs to the priests alone. Go out of 
the Holy Place, for you have disobeyed the Lord's command; 
and it will not bring upon you honor, but trouble." 

Uzziah was standing before the golden altar with a censer of 
incense in his hand. Instantly the white scales of leprosy rose 
upon his forehead. The priests saw in that moment that God 
had smitten Uzziah with leprosy; indeed, he felt it himself, and 
turned to leave the Holy Place. But they would not wait for 
him to go out; they drove him out, for the leper's presence made 
the house unholy. And from that day until he died, Uzziah was 
a leper. He could no longer sit as king, but his son Jotham took 
his place ; nor was he allowed to live in the palace, but he stayed 
in a house alone. And when he died they would not give him a 
place among the tombs of the kings; but they buried him in a 
field outside. Jotham, the eleventh king, ruled after his father's 
death sixteen years. He served the Lord, but he did not stop 
his people from worshipping the idols. He was warned by his 
father's fate, and was content to be a king, without trying at the 
same time to be a priest and to offer incense in the temple. God 
was with Jotham, and gave his kingdom some success. 

The next king, the twelfth, was Ahaz, who was the wickedest 
of all the kings of Judah. He left the service of God, and wor- 



The War With Israel 



433 



shipped the images of Baai. Worse than any other king, he even 
offered some of his own children as burnt-offerings to the false 
gods. In his reign the house of the Lord was shut up, and its 
treasures were taken away, and it was left to fall into ruin. For 
his sins and the sins of his people, God brought great suffering 
upon the land. 
The king of 
Israel, Pekah, 
came against 
Ahaz, and 
killed more 
than a hun- 
dred thousand 
of the men of 
Judah, among 
them the 
king' s own 
son. The Is- 
raelites also 
took away 
many more,— 
men, women 
and children, 
— as captives. 
But a prophet 
of the Lord in 
Israel, whose 
name was 
O d e d , came 
out to meet 

tne rulers, ana THE H igh-priest offers sacrifice in the temple. 
said to them . 

"The Lord God was angry with Judah, and gave its people 
into your hand. But do you now intend to keep your brothers 
of Judah as slaves? Have not you also sinned against the Lord? 
Now listen to the word of the Lord, and set your brothers free 
and send them home." 

Then the rulers of Israel gave clothing to such of the captives 
as were in need, and set food before them; and they sent them 

28 





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434 Three Kings and a Great Prophet 

home to their own land, even giving to those that were weak 
among them asses to ride upon. They brought them to Jericho, 
in the valley of the Jordan, and gave them to their own people. 

When the Edomites came against Judah, King Ahaz sent to 
the Assyrians, a great people far away, to come and help him. 
The Assyrians came, but they did not help him, for they made 
themselves the rulers of Judah, and robbed Ahaz of all that he 
had, and laid heavy burdens upon the land. At last Ahaz died, 
leaving his people worshippers of idols and under the power of 
the king of Assyria. 

In the days of these three kings, Uzziah, Jotham and Ahaz, 
God raised up a great prophet in Judah, whose name was Isaiah. 
The prophecies that he spoke in the name of the Lord are given 
in the book of Isaiah. In the year that King Uzziah died s Isaiah 
was a young man. One day, while he was worshipping in the 
temple, a wonderful vision rose suddenly before his sight. He 
saw the form of the Lord God upon a throne, with the angels 
around him. He saw also strange creatures called seraphim, 
standing before the throne of the Lord. Each of these had six 
wings. With two wings he covered his face before the glory of 
the Lord, with two wings he covered his feet, and with two he 
flew through the air to do God's will. And these seraphim called 
out to one another, "Holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts; the whole 
earth is full of his glory I " 

And the young Isaiah felt the walls and the floor of the Temple 
shaking at these voices ; and he saw a cloud of smoke covering the 
house. Isaiah was filled with fear. He cried out saying: 

"Woe has come to me! for I am a man of sinful lips, and I 
live among a people of sinful lips: and now my eyes have seen 
the king, the Lord of hosts!" 

Then one of the seraphim took into his hand the tongs that 
were used in the sacrifices. He flew to the altar, and with the 
tongs took up a burning coal. Then he flew to the place where 
Isaiah was standing, and pressed the fiery coal to Isaiah's lips: 
and he said, "This coal from God's altar has touched your lips, 
and now your sin is taken away, and you are made clean." 

Then Isaiah heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom 
shall I send to this people? Who will bear the message of the 
Lord to them?" 



What the Lord Said to Isaiah 435 

And Isaiah said, "Here am I, Lord; send me!" 

And the Lord said to Isaiah, "You shall be my prophet, and 
shall go to this people, and shall give to them my words. But 
they will not listen to you, nor understand you. Your words 
will do them no good, but will seem to make their hearts hard, 
and their ears heavy, and their eyes shut. For they will not 
hear with their ears, nor see with their eyes, nor understand 
with their hearts, nor will they turn to me and be saved." 

And Isaiah said, " How long must this be, O Lord? " 

And the Lord said: 

"Until the cities are left waste without people, and the houses 
without men to live in them; and the land shall become utterly 
desolate; and the people shall be taken far away into another 
land. But out of all this there shall be a few people, a tenth 
part, to come back, and to rise like a new tree from the roots 
where the old tree has been cut down. This tenth part shall be 
the seed of a new people in the times to come." 

By this Isaiah knew that, though his words might seem to 
do no good, yet he was to go on preaching, for long afterward a 
new Judah should arise out of the ruins of the old kingdom, and 
should serve the Lord. 

Isaiah lived for many years, and spoke the word of the Lord 
to his people until he was a very old man. He preached while 
four kings, perhaps also a fifth, were ruling. Some of these kings 
were friendly, and listened to his words: but others were not 
willing to obey the prophet and do the will of God; and the king- 
dom of Judah gradually fell away from the worship of the Lord, 
and followed the people of the Ten Tribes in the worship of idols. 



Story £our. 



THE GOOD KING HEZEKIAH. 

II Kings xviii : i, to xx : 21 ; II Chronicles xxix : 1, to xxxii : 33 ; 
Isaiah xxxvi : 1, to xxxviii : 22. 




FTER Ahaz, the wickedest of the kings of Judah, came 
Hezekiah, who was the best of the kings. He 
listened to the words of the prophet Isaiah, and 
obeyed the commands of the Lord. In the first 
month of his reign, when he was a young man, he 
called together the priests and the Levites, who had the charge of 
the house of the Lord, and he said to them : 

''My sons, give yourselves once more to the service of the Lord, 
and be holy, as God commands you. Now open the doors of the 
house of the Lord, which have been shut for these many years; 
and take out of the house all the idols that have been placed in 
it ; and make the place clean, and pure from all evil things. Because 
the people have turned away from the Lord, he has been angry 
with us, and has left us to our enemies; now let us go back to 
the Lord, and promise again to serve him. God has chosen you, 
my sons, to lead in his worship ; do not neglect the work that the 
Lord has given you to do." 

Then the Temple was opened as of old ; the idols were taken 
away ; the altar was made holy to the Lord, and the daily offering 
was laid upon it; the lamps were lighted in the holy place; the 
priest stood before the golden altar offering incense; the Levites 
in their robes sang the psalms of David, while the silver trumpets 
made music ; and the people came up to worship in the Temple 
as they had not come in many years. (For an account of the 
services of worship see Part First, Story Twenty-eight.) 

You remember that the great Feast of the Passover kept in 
mind how the children of Israel had come out of Egypt. (See 
Part First, Story Twenty-three). For a long time the people 
had ceased to keep this feast, both in Judah and in Israel. King 

(436) 



Hezekiah's Great Feast 



437 



Hezekiah sent commands through all Judah for the people to come 
up to Jerusalem, and to worship the Lord in this feast. He also 
sent men through the land of Israel, the Ten Tribes, to ask the 
men of Israel also to come up with their brothers of Judah to Jeru- 
salem, and to keep the feast. At that time Hoshea, the last king 
of Israel, was on the throne, the land was overrun by the Assyrians, 
and the kingdom was very weak, and nearing its end. (See Part 
Fourth, Story Eighteen.) Most of the people in Israel were wor- 
shippers of idols, and had forgotten God's law. They laughed 
at Hezekiah's messengers, and would not come to the feast. But 
in many places in Israel there were some who had listened to the 
prophets of 
the Lord, and 
these came up 
to worship 
with the men 
of Judah. For 
each family 
they roasted a 
lamb, and with 
it ate the un- 
leavened 
bread, that is 
bread made 
without yeast, 
and they 
praised the 

Lord who had led their fathers out from Egypt to their own land. 
After the feast, when the people had given themselves once 
more to the service of God, King Hezekiah began to destroy the 
idols that were everywhere in Judah. He sent men to break 
down the images, to tear in pieces the altars to the false gods, 
and to cut down the trees under which the altars stood. You 
remember that Moses made a serpent of brass in the wilderness. 
(See Part First, Story Thirty-two.) This image had been brought 
to Jerusalem, and was still kept there in the days of Hezekiah. 
The people were worshippng it as an idol; and were burning 
incense before it. Hezekiah said, "It is nothing but a piece of 
brass," and he commanded that it should be broken up. Every- 




>OOL OF HEZEKIAH AT JERUSALEM 



43 8 The Good King Hezekiah 

where he called upon his people to turn from the idols, to destroy 
them, and to worship the Lord God. 

When Hezekiah became king, the kingdoms of Israel, and 
Syria, and Judah, with all the lands near them, were under the 
power of the great kingdom of the Assyrians. Each land had its 
own king, but he ruled under the king of Assyria ; and every year 
a heavy tax was laid upon the people, to be paid to the Assyrians. 
After a few years, Hezekiah thought that he was strong enough 
to set his kingdom free from the Assyrian rule. He refused to 
pay the tax any longer, and gathered an army, and built the walls 
of Jerusalem higher, and made ready for a war with the Assyrians. 
But Sennacherib, the king of Assyria, came into the land of Judah 
with a great army, and took all the cities in the west of Judah, 
and threatened to take Jerusalem also. Then Hezekiah saw that 
he had made a mistake. He was not able to fight the Assyrians, 
the most powerful of all. the nations in that part of the world. 
He sent word to the king of Assyria, saying: 

"I will no more resist your rule; forgive me for the past, and 
I will pay whatever you ask." 

Then the king of Assyria laid upon Hezekiah and his people 
a tax heavier than before. To obtain the money, Hezekiah took 
all the gold and silver in the temple, all that was in his own palace, 
and all that he could find among the people, and sent it to the 
Assyrians. But even then the king of Assyria was not satisfied. 
He sent his princes to Jerusalem with this message : 

"We are going to destroy this city, and to take you away 
into another land, a land far away ; as we have taken the people 
of Israel away, and as we have carried captive other peoples. 
The gods of other nations have not been able to save those who 
trusted in them against us, and your God will not be able to save 
you. Now give yourselves up to the great king of Assyria, and 
go to the land where he will send you." 

When King Hezekiah heard this, he was filled with fear. 
He took the letter into the house of the Lord, and spread it out 
before the altar, and called upon the Lord to help him and to save 
his people. Then he sent his princes to the prophet Isaiah, to 
ask him to give them some word from the Lord. And Isaiah said : 

"Thus saith the Lord, 'The king of Assyria shall not come 
to this city, nor shall he shoot an arrow against it. But he shall 



The Assyrians Slain 



439 



go back to his own land by the same way that he came. And I 
will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land. For I will 
defend this city, and will save it for my own sake and for my 
servant David's sake.'" 

Just at that time, Sennacherib, the king of Assyria, heard that 1 
a great army was marching against him from another land. He 
turned away from the land of Judah, and went to meet these new 
enemies. And the Lord sent upon the army of the Assyrians a 




THE SHADOW ON THE DIAL GOES BACK. 



sudden and terrible plague, so that in one night nearly two hundred 
thousand of them died in their camp. Then tCing Sennacherib 
hastened back to his own land, and never again came into the 
land of Judah; nor did he again send an army there. And years 
after this, while he was worshipping his idol-god in his temple at 
Nineveh, his chief city, two of his sons came upon him, and slew 
him with the sword. They escaped into a distant land, and Esar- 
haddon, another of his sons, became king over the lands ruled by 
the Assyrians. Thus did God save his city and his people from 



44o The Good King Hezekiah 

their enemies, because they looked to him for help. At the time 
while the Assyrians were in the land, and the kingdom was in 
great danger, King Hezekiah was suddenly stricken with a deadly 
disease. It was a tumor or a cancer, which no physician could 
cure ; and the prophet Isaiah said to him : 

"Thus saith the Lord, 'Set your house in order, and prepare 
to leave your kingdom, for you shall die, and not live.'" 

But King Hezekiah felt that in a time of such trouble to the 
land he could not be spared, especially as at that time he had no 
son who could take charge of the kingdom. Then Hezekiah upon 
his bed prayed to the Lord that he might live ; and he said : 

"O Lord, I beseech thee, remember now how I have walked 
before thee in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that 
which was good in thy sight. Let me live and not die, O Lord!" 

The Lord heard Hezekiah's prayer, and before Isaiah had 
reached the middle of the city, on his way home, the Lord said to 
him, "Turn again, and say to Hezekiah the prince of my people, 
'Thus saith the Lord, I have heard your prayer, I have seen your 
tears; I will heal you; and in three days you shall go up to the 
house of the Lord. I will add to your life fifteen years, and I 
will save this city from the king of Assyria.' " 

Then Isaiah the prophet came again to Hezekiah, and spoke 
to him the word of the Lord; and he said, also, " Lay on the tumor 
a plaster made of figs, and he shall be cured." 

When Hezekiah heard the words of Isaiah, he said, "What 
sign will the Lord give, to show that he will cure me, and that I 
shall again go up to the house of the Lord? " 

And Isaiah said, "The Lord will give you a sign, and you shall 
choose it yourself. Shall the shadow on the dial go forward ten 
degrees, or go back ten degrees?" Near the palace was standing a 
sun-dial, by which the time of the day was shown, for there were no 
clocks in those years. And Hezekiah said, " It is easy for the shadow 
to go forward ten degrees. Let it go back ten degrees." 

Then Isaiah the prophet called upon the Lord, and the Lord 
heard him ; and caused the shadow to go backward on the sun-dial 
ten degrees. And within three days Hezekiah was well, and 
went to worship in the house of the Lord. After this Hezekiah 
lived fifteen years in honor. When he died all the land mourned 
for him as the best of the kings. 



Story $ive. 



THE LOST BOOK FOUND IN THE 
TEMPLE. 

II Kings xxi : i, to xxiii : 25 ; II Chronicles xxxiii : 1, to xxxv : 27, 




IANASSEH, the fourteenth king of Judah, followed the 
sins of his grandfather Ahaz, and not the good deeds 
of his father Hezekiah. He was only twelve years 
old when he began to reign, too young for so great 
a care as the kingdom ; and in his youth he turned 
away from the teachings of the prophet Isaiah and from the service 
of the Lord. He built again the altars to Baal and the Asherah, 
which his father Hezekiah had thrown down; he worshipped the 
sun, and moon, and stars; he set up images even in the Temple, 
the house of the Lord. When Manasseh grew older, and had 
children of his own, he made them go through the fire, seeking to 
please the false gods. He would not listen to the prophets whom 
the Lord sent .to warn him; and there is reason to believe, — though 
the Bible does not say it, — that he put to death the good prophet 
Isaiah. 

And Manasseh in his Avickendess reigned a long time, longer 
than any of the wicked kings who had gone before him; so that 
he led his people further away from God than even Ahaz, who 
had been as wicked as Manasseh. Because of Manasseh's sins, 
and the sins of his people, the Lord brought upon the land the 
generals of the Assyrian army with their host. They took 
Manasseh a prisoner, and bound him with chains, and carried 
him to the city of Babylon, where the king of Assyria was then 
living. There Manasseh was kept a prisoner for a time. 

While he was in prison Manasseh saw how wicked he had 
been, and he sought the Lord. He prayed to be forgiven for his 
sins, and the Lord heard him. Afterward, the king of Assyria 
allowed Manasseh to rule over his land again. Then Manasseh 

(441) 



442 The Lost Book Found in the Temple 

knew that the Lord was the only true God; and from that time 
he worshipped the Lord only. He took the altars and the images 
of the false gods out of the Temple, and built again the altar of the 
Lord, and caused the offerings to be laid upon it. He commanded 
his people to worship the Lord, and to leave the idols; but they 
had gone too far to come back, and only a few of them followed 
their king's example in seeking the Lord. He could easily lead 
his people into sin, but he could not bring them back to God. 

After a long reign of fifty-five years Manasseh died, and his 
son Amon became king. He reigned only two years, but they 
were years of wickedness and of worshipping idols. Then his 
servants in his own house killed Amon; but the people killed 
them in turn, and made his son Josiah king. 

Josiah, the sixteenth king, was only eight years old when 
his father Amon was slain. At first he was too young to rule 
over the land, and the princes of his court governed in his name, 
But when Josiah was sixteen years old he chose the Lord God of 
his father David, the God whom Hezekiah had worshipped; and 
he served the Lord more fully than any of the kings who had gone 
before him. When he was twenty years old, he began to clear 
away the idols and the idol-temples from the land of Judah. He 
did this work more thoroughly than it had ever been done before, 
by Jehoshaphat or by Hezekiah; for he left in all the land not a 
single place where idols were worshipped. He went even beyond 
his own borders, into the land that had been the land of Israel, 
from which most of the people had been carried away captive 
long before: and in every place he broke down the altars, and 
burned the images, and even dug up the bones of the idol-priests, 
and burned them with their images. 

He came to Bethel, twelve miles north of Jerusalem, where 
Jeroboam of Israel had built the temple for the worship of the 
golden calves, two hundred years before. (See Story Two in 
Part Fourth.) There, as he was burning the bones of the idol- 
priests upon the ruins of their own altars, he found a tomb, and 
asked who was buried there. They said, "This is the tomb of the 
man of God who came from Judah, and warned King Jeroboam of 
one who would do these very things that you are doing." 

"Let his bones rest," said King Josiah. "Let no man touch 
the bones of the prophet." 



The Old Book Read 



443 



While the men of King Josiah were at work in the Temple 
on Mount Moriah, taking away the idols, and making the house 
pure once more, they found an old book, written upon rolls of 
leather. It was the book of the law of the Lord, given by Moses, 
but it had been hidden so long that men had forgotten it. They 
brought the 
book, and read 
from it aloud to 
the king. 

And when 
King Josiah 
heard the 
words of the 
law, and the 
warning of the 
woes that were 
to come upon 
the people for 
diso b eying 
them, the king 
was filled with 
alarm. He said 
to the rulers : 
"Go and ask 
of the Lord for 
me and for all 
the people. 
Great is the 
anger of the 
Lord against 
us, because our 
fathers have 
disobeyed the 

words of the THE words of the law are read before the king. 

Lord written in 

this book." They sought for a prophet to give them the word of 
the Lord, and they found a woman named Huldah, living in Jerusa- 
lem, to whom the word of the Lord came. She was called " a 
prophetess," and they brought to her the message of King Josiah. 
And the prophetess Huldah said to them, "Thus saith the Lord, 




444 The Lost Book Found in the Temple 

the God of Israel, ' Go and tell the man who has sent you, Behold, 
I will bring evil on this place and on the people living in it, because 
they have forsaken the Lord and have worshipped other gods. My 
anger will fall upon this city and upon this land. But because 
King Josiah has sought the Lord, and has done God's will, and has 
called upon the Lord, therefore the Lord says that he will hold back 
his anger against this city and this land as long as Josiah lives, and 
he shall go down to his grave before all these evils come upon 
Judah and Jerusalem.' " 

When Josiah heard this he called all the princes and the priests 
and the people to meet in the Temple of the Lord. There the king 
stood by a pillar and read to all the people the words of the book 
that had been found. Then the king and all his people made a 
promise to serve the Lord and to do his will, and to keep his law 
with all their hearts. And this promise they kept while Josiah 
lived ; but that was only a few years. 

All this time the kingdom of Judah, like all the kingdoms 
around, was a part of the greater kingdom or empire of Assyria. 
But the great kings of Assyria had passed away, and now the king- 
dom or empire of Assyria was becoming weak and falling apart, 
Pharaoh-nechoh, the king of Egypt, went to war with the Assyrians, 
and on his way passed through the land of Judah and what had once 
been Israel before its people were carried away captive. Josiah 
thought that as the king of Assyria was his over-lord, he must fight 
against the king of Egypt, who was coming against him. 

Pharaoh-nechoh, the king of Egypt, sent a message to King 
Josiah, saying, " I have nothing against you, king of Judah, and 
I am not coming to make war on you, but on the king of Assyria. 
God has sent me, and commanded me to make haste. Do not stand 
in my way, or you may be destroyed." 

But Josiah would not heed the message of the king of Egypt. 
He went out against him with his army, and met him in battle on 
the great plain of Esdraelon, where so many battles had been fought 
before and have been fought since. There the Egyptians won a 
victory, and in the fight the archers shot King Josiah. He died in 
his chariot, and they brought his dead body to Jerusalem. And all 
the land mourned and wept for the king whom they loved because 
he had ruled wisely and well. And with the good King Josiah died 
the last hope of the kingdom of Judah. 



Story Six. 



THE LAST FOUR KINGS OF JUDAH, AND 
THE WEEPING PROPHET. 

II Kings xxiii : 31, to xxv : 22 ; II Chronicles xxxvi : 1 to 21 ; 

Jeremiah xxii ; 10 to 12 ; xxiv : 1 to 10 ; xxix : 1 to 29 ; 

xxxvi : 1, to xliii : 13. 




HEN the good King Josiah fell in battle the people of 
the land made his son Jehoahaz king. At that time 
all the kingdoms around Judah were in confusion. 
The great empire of Assyria had been the ruler of 
nearly all that part of the world ; but now it had been 
broken up, Nineveh, its chief city, had been destroyed, and Egypt, 
Babylonia, and other lands were at war, each striving to take the 
place of Assyria as the ruler of the nations. 

Pharaoh-nechoh, the king of Egypt, whose warriors had slain 
King Josiah, became for a time the master of the lands between 
Egypt and the Euphrates river. He felt that he could not trust 
the young King Jehoahaz, and he took his crown from him, and 
carried him a captive down to Egypt, so that Jehoahaz, the seven- 
teenth king, reigned only three months. The prophet Jeremiah, 
who arose during Josiah 's reign, spoke thus of the young king who 
so soon was taken away a prisoner, " Weep not for the dead King 
Josiah, nor sorrow over him, but weep for him that goeth away, the 
King Jehoahaz, for he shall return no more, nor shall he again see 
his own land. In the place where they have led him captive, there 
shall he die, and he shall look upon this land no more." 

The man whom Pharaoh-nechoh set up as king over Judah in 
place of Jehoahaz was his brother Jehoiakim, another son of Josiah. 
But he was not like his father, for he lived most wickedly, and led 
his people back to the idols which Josiah had tried to destroy. 
Jeremiah, the prophet, spoke to him the words of the Lord, and 
warned him that the evil way in which he was going would surely 

(445) . 



446 The Last Four Kings of Judah 

end in ruin to the king and the people. This made King Jehoiakim 
very angry. He tried to kill the prophet, and to save his life Jere- 
miah was hidden by his friends. 

Jeremiah could no longer go out among the people nor stand 
in the. Temple to speak the word of the Lord. So he wrote upon a 
roll God's message, and gave it to his friend Baruch to read before 
the people. While Baruch was reading it some officers of the king 
came and took the roll away, and brought it to the king. King 
Jehoiakim was sitting in his palace, with the princes around him, 
and a fire was burning before him, for it was the winter time. The 
officer began to read the roll before the king and the princes, but 
when he had read a few pages the king took up a knife and began 
cutting the leaves and throwing them into the fire. Even the 
princes were shocked at this, for they knew that the writing on the 
roll was God's word to the king and the people. They begged the 
king not to destroy the roll, but he would not heed them. He went 
on cutting up the roll and throwing it in the fire until it was all 
burned. 

The king told his officers to take Jeremiah the prophet and 
Baruch, who read his words ; and he would have killed them if he 
had found them. But they were hidden, and he could not find 
them, for the Lord kept them in safety. 

Jehoiakim reigned a few years as the servant of the king of 
Egypt. But soon the Egyptians lost all the lands that they had 
gained outside of their own country; and the Babylonians, under 
Nebuchadnezzar, rose to power over the nations, and took the place 
of empire that had been held by the Assyrians. Nebuchadnezzar 
was the son of the king of Babylon, and at first was the general of 
his army. He came against Judah and Jerusalem, but Jehoiakim 
did not dare to fight with him. He promised to serve Nebuchad- 
nezzar, and on that condition was allowed to remain king; but no 
sooner had the Babylonian army gone away than he broke his 
promise, and rose against Babylon, and tried to make himself free. 

But in this King Jehoiakim did not succeed. Instead, he lost 
his kingdom and his life, for either by the Babylonians or by his 
own people he was slain, and his dead body, like that of a beast, was 
thrown outside the gate of the city. He had reigned in wickedness 
eleven years, and he died in disgrace. 

Jehoiakim's young son Jehoiachin, who was also called Coniah 



Two Baskets of Figs 



447 



or Jeconiah, was then made king by the people. But he reigned 
only three months, for Nebuchadnezzar, who was now the king of 
Babylon, and was conquering all the lands, came with his army and 
took the city of Jerusalem. He carried the young king a captive 
to Babylon, as Nechoh had carried Jehoahaz a captive to Egypt 
eleven years before. With King Jehoiachin were taken away 
many of the nobles and rulers, and the best people of the land 

Most of these _ _ j i 

were worship- 
pers of the 
Lord, who car- 
ried with them 
to the land of 
Babylonia a 
love for the 
Lord, and who 
served him 
there, for their 
trouble only 
drew them the 
closer to their 
God. After 
these captives 
had been 
taken away 
the Lord 
showed to 
Jeremiah in 
the temple a 

Vision of what JEREMIAH warns the people of judah, 

should come 

to pass. Jeremiah saw two baskets of figs. One basket was full 
of fresh, ripe figs, the best that could be found. The other basket 
was full of poor, decayed figs, not fit to be eaten. The Lord said, 
"Jeremiah, what do you see?" 

And Jeremiah said, "Figs; the good figs very good; and the 
bad figs very bad, figs so bad that they cannot be eaten." 

Then the Lord said to Jeremiah, " Like these good figs are the 
captives who have been taken away to the land of Babylon. 1 will 




448 The Last Four Kings of Judah 

care for them, and keep them, and will bring them again to this 
land. I will give them a heart to know me ; and I will be their God, 
and they shall be my people. And the bad figs are like those who 
are left in this land, the king who shall reign over them, and his 
princes, and his people. They shall suffer, and shall die by the 
sword, and by famine, and by plague, until they are destroyed." 

God showed Jeremiah in this way that the captives in Babylon 
were the hope of the nation. And afterward Jeremiah sent a letter 
to these captives, saying, ''Thus saith the Lord to those who have 
been carried away captive, ' Build houses and live in them ; and 
plant gardens, and eat the fruit of them ; and have sons and daugh- 
ters, and let your children be married in that land when they grow 
up. And pray the Lord to give peace to the city and the land where 
you are living, for you and your children shall stay there seventy 
years, and after seventy years they shall come again to their own 
land in peace. For my thoughts, saith the Lord, are thoughts of 
peace and kindness toward you. You shall call upon me, and I 
will hear you. You shall seek me and find me, when you seek me 
with all your heart.'" 

After Jehoiachin and the captives had been taken away, 
Nebuchadnezzar set up as king in Judah Zedekiah, the uncle of 
Jehoiachin and another son of Josiah. He was the twentieth and 
last king of the kingdom of Judah. He began by promising to be 
true and faithful to his over-lord, Nebuchadnezzar, the king of 
Babylon, who had made him king. But very soon he was led by 
the nobles who stood around his throne to break his promise and 
to throw off the rule of Babylon; also he left the worship of the 
Lord, as did his people, and began to pray to the idols of wood and 
stone that could give him no help. 

Jeremiah the prophet told King Zedekiah that he was doing 
wickedly in breaking his promises and in turning from the Lord to 
idols. He told Zedekiah that he would fail, and would bring his 
kingdom to ruin. He said, " It is better to obey the king of Babylon 
than to fight against him, for God will not bless you and your people 
in breaking your word. The king of Babylon will come and will 
destroy this city. You shall see him face to face, and he will take 
you away a captive to his own land, and this cHy shall be destroyed. " 

This made the princes and nobles very angry against Jeremiah. 
They said, "This man Jeremiah is an enemy of his land and a friend 



The Prophet in the Dungeon 



449 



to the king of Babylon. He is a traitor, and should be put to 
death." Zedekiah said to his nobles, " Jeremiah is in your hands; 
you can do with him what you choose. The king cannot help him 
against you." 

Then these men seized Jeremiah, and took him to the prison, 
and threw him 
into a dungeon, 
down below the 
floor, and filled 
with mud and 
filth, into which 
the prophet 
sank ; and there 
they left him 
to die. But in 
the court of 
the king there 
was one kind 
man, a negro 
named Ebed- 
melech. He 
found Jere- 
miah in the 
dungeon, and 
let down to him 
a rope and drew 
him up, and 
brought him to 
a safe and dry 
place, though 
still in the 
prison. 

By this 
time Nebu- 
chadnezzar, 

the king of Babylon, and his army were again before the city of 
Jerusalem, laying siege to it. No one could go out or come in; 
no food could be found for the people, and many of them starved 
to death. The soldiers of Nebuchadnezzar built forts, and threw 
29 




JEREMIAH TELLS THE KING HE SHALL BE TAKEN CAPTIVE. 



450 The Last Four Kings of Judah 

darts and stones, and broke down the gates, and made great open- 
ings in the walls of the city. 

When King Zedekiah saw that the city must fall before its 
enemies he tried to escape. But the men of Babylon followed him 
and took him prisoner, and with him all his family, his wives and 
his sons. They were all brought before King Nebuchadnezzar, so 
that it came to pass as the prophet had said, Zedekiah saw the king 
of Babylon. 

But he saw what was more terrible ; he saw all his sons slain 
before him. Then Zedekiah's eyes were put out, and, a blinded 
captive, he was dragged away to Babylon. The Babylonian soldiers 
killed all the leaders of the people who had led Zedekiah to rebel 
against Nebuchadnezzar; and the rest of the people, except the 
very poorest in the land, they took away to the land of Babylon. 
The king of Babylon was friendly to Jeremiah, the prophet, because 
of the advice that he had given to Zedekiah and his people. The 
ruler whom Nebuchadnezzar set over the city opened the door of 
Jeremiah's prison, and allowed him to choose between going to 
Babylon with the captives or staying with the poor people in the 
land. Jeremiah choose to stay; but not long after he was taken 
down to Egypt by enemies to the king of Babylon. And there in 
Egypt Jeremiah died; some think that he was slain. His life had 
been sad, for he had seen nothing but evil come upon his land ; and 
his message from the Lord had been a message of woe and wrath. 
Because of his sorrow, Jeremiah has been called "the weeping 
prophet." 

Nebuchadnezzar carried away all that was left of the valuable 
things in the Temple, and then he burned the buildings. He tore 
down the walls of Jerusalem and set the city on fire. So all that was 
left of the city of David and the Temple of Solomon was a heap of 
ashes and blackened stones. And thus the kingdom of Judah ended, 
nearly four hundred years after Rehoboam became its first king. 



Story Seven. 



WHAT EZEKIEL SAW IN THE VALLEY. 

Ezekiel xxxvii. 




LL that was now left of the people of Judah was a 
company of captives, carried away from their own 
land to the land of Babylon. Theirs was a long, 
sorrowful journey, with their wives and children, 
dragged by cruel soldiers over mountains and val- 
leys almost a thousand miles. They could not go straight across 
the vast desert which lies between the land of Judah and the plains 
of Babylonia. They were led around this desert far to the north, 
through Syria, up to the Euphrates river, and then following the 
great river in all its windings down to the land of their captivity. 
There in the land of Babylonia or Chaldea they found rest at last. 

When they were once in their new home the captives met with 
less trouble than they had feared; for the people of the land under 
Nebuchadnezzar, the great king, treated them kindly, and gave 
them fields to work in as their own. The soil was rich, and they 
could raise large crops of wheat, and barley, and other grains. They 
planted gardens and built for themselves houses. Some of them 
went to live in the cities, and became rich, and some were in the 
court of King Nebuchadnezzar, and rose to high place as nobles and 
princes, standing next to the king in rank and honor. 

And the best of all w r as that these captives in a strange land 
did not worship idols. They saw the images of the Babylonian 
gods all around them, but they did not bow down to them. They 
worshipped the Lord God of their fathers, and the Lord only. The 
idol- worshippers in Judah had been slain, and most of the captives 
were good men and women, who taught their children to love and 
serve the lord. 

And these people did not forget the land from which they had 
come. They loved the land of Israel, and they taught their children 
to love it by singing songs about it. Some of these songs which the 

(4Si) 



452 What Ezekiel Saw in the Valley 

captive Jews sang in the land of Chaldea are in the Book of Psalms 
Here is a part of one of these songs : 

"By the rivers of Babylon, 
There we sat down, yea, we wept, 
When we remembered Zion. 

Upon the willow-trees in the midst of that land 
We hanged up our harps 

For there they that led us captive asked us to sing; 
And they that wanted us asked us to be glad, saying, 
' Sing us one of the songs of Zion.' 
How shall Ave sing the Lord's song 
In a foreign land? 

If I forget thee, Jerusalem, 

Let my right hand forget her skill. 

Let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth, 

If I do not remember thee 

If I do not prefer Jerusalem 

Above my chief joy." 

From this time these people were called Jews, a name which 
means "people of Judah." And the Jews everywhere in the world 
belong to this people, for they have sprung or descended from the 
men who once lived in the land of Judah. And because they had 
once belonged to the twelve tribes of Israel, and ten of the tribes 
had been lost, and their kingdom had forever passed away, they 
were also spoken of as Israelites. So from this time "people of 
Judah," Jews, and Israelites, all mean the people who had come 
from the land of Judah, and their descendants after them. 

God was good to his people in the land of Babylon, or Chaldea, 
another name by which this country was called. He sent to them 
prophets, who showed to them the way of the Lord. One of these 
prophets was Daniel, a young man who lived in the court of King 
Nebuchadnezzar. Another was a priest named Ezekiel, who lived 
among the captive people beside a river in Chaldea, called the river 
Cheban. God gave to Ezekiel wonderful visions. He saw the 
throne of the Lord, and the strange creatures with" six wings, that 
the prophet Isaiah had seen long before. (See Story Three in this 
Part.) And he heard the voice of the Lord telling him of what 
should come to his people in the years to come. 

At one time the Lord lifted up Ezekiel and brought him into 



God Tells Ezekiel to Preach 



453 



the middle of a great valley. The prophet looked around, and saw 
that the valley was covered with the bones of men, as though a 
great battle had been fought upon it, and the bodies of the slain 
had been left there, and they had become a vast army of dry bones. 

"Son of man," spoke the voice of the Lord to Ezekiel, "can 
these dry bones live again ? ' ' 

And Ezekiel answered, "0 Lord God, thou knowest whether 
these dry bones can live." 

Then the Lord said to Ezekiel, "Preach to these dry bones, 
son of man, and say to them, ' ye dry bones, hear the voice of 




THE CAPTIVES IN BABYLON. 



the Lord. Thus saith the Lord, I will send breath into you, and 
you shall live, and I will put flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, 
and vou shall be alive again, and know that I am the Lord.' " 

Then Ezekiel spoke to the army of dry bones spread over the 
valley, as the Lord bade him speak. And while he was speaking 
there sounded a noise of rolling thunder, and all through the field 
the different bones began to come together, one part to another part, 
until they were no more loose bones, but skeletons of bones fitted 
together. Then another change came. Suddenly the flesh grew 
over all the bones, and they lay on the ground like an army of dead 
men, a host of bodies without life. 



454 The Jewish Captives in the King's Court 

Then the Lord said to Ezekiel, " Speak to the wind, O son of 
man; speak, and say, 'Come from the four winds, breath, and 
breathe upon these slain, that they may live.' " 

Then Ezekiel called upon the wind to come, and while he was 
speaking the dead bodies began to breathe. Then they stood up 
on their feet, a great army of living men, filling the whole valley. 
Then the Lord said to Ezekiel, "Son of man, these dry bones are 
the people of Israel They seem to be lost, and dead, and without 
hope. But they shall live again, for I, the Lord, will put life into 
them; and they shall go back to their own land, and be a people 
once more. I, the Lord, have spoken it, and I will do it." 

When Ezekiel told the captive people this vision their hearts 
were lifted up with a new hope that they should see their own land 
again. 



Story (Eigft. 



THE JEWISH CAPTIVES IN THE COURT 
OF THE KING. 

Daniel i : i, to ii : 49. 




N Story Six of this Part, we read of Jehoiakim, the 
wicked son of the good King Josiah. While Jehoia- 
kim was ruling over the land of Judah, Nebuchad- 
nezzar, the great conqueror of the nations, came from 
Babylon with his army of Chaldean soldiers. He 
took the city of Jerusalem, and made Jehoiakim promise to submit 
to him as his master, a promise that Jehoiakim soon broke. And 
when Nebuchadnezzar went back to his own land he took with him 
all the gold and silver that he could find in the Temple; and he 
carried away as captives very many of the princes and nobles, the 
best people in the land of Judah. 



Daniel and His Friends 



455 



When these Jews were brought to the land of Chaldea or 
Babylon, King Nebuchadnezzar gave orders to the prince who had 
charge of his palace to choose among these Jewish captives some 
young men that were of noble rank, and beautiful in their looks, and 
also quick and bright in their minds, young men who would be able' 
to learn readily. These young men were to be placed under the 
care of wise men, who should teach them all that they knew, and fit 
them to stand before the king of Babylon, so that they might be his 




THE FOUR YOUNG MEN BEFORE THE KING. 



helpers, to carry out his orders; and the king wished them to be 
wise, so that they might give him advice in ruling the people. 

Among the young men thus chosen were four Jews, men who 
had been brought from Judah. By order of the king the names of 
these men were changed. One of them, named Daniel, was to be 
called Belteshazzar, the other three young men were called Shadrach, 
Meshach, and Abed-nego. These four young men were taught in all 
the knowledge of the Chaldeans ; and after three years of training 
they were taken into the king's palace to stand before the king. 

After they came to the palace the chief of the princes in the 



456 The Jewish Captives in the King's Court 

palace sent to these men as a special honor some of the dishes of 
food from the king's table, and some of the wine that was set apart 
for the king and his princes to drink. But both the meat and the 
wine of the king's table had been a part of the offerings to the idols 
of wood and stone that were worshipped by the Chaldeans. These 
young Jews felt that if they should take such food they, too, would 
be worshipping idols. Then, too, the laws of the Jews were very 
strict with regard to what kind of food might be eaten, and how it 
should be cooked. Food of certain kinds was called " unclean," and 
the Jews were forbidden to touch it. 

These young Jews, far away from their own land and from their 
temple, felt that they must be very careful to do nothing forbidden 
by the laws which God had given to their people. They said to the 
chief of the nobles in the palace : 

" We cannot eat this meat and drink this wine, for it is forbidden 
by our laws." 

The chief of the nobles said to Daniel : 

" If you do not eat the food that is given you, the king will see 
that you are not looking well. He will be angry with me for not 
giving you better care. What shall I do ? I am afraid that the king 
may command me to be put to death." 

Daniel said: 

''Give us vegetable food, and bread. Let us eat no meat, and 
drink no wine for ten days ; and see if we do not look well-fed." 

The chief of the nobles, to whose care these young men had been 
given, loved Daniel ; as every one loved him who knew him. So he 
did as Daniel asked. He took away the meat and the wine, and 
gave to these young Jews only vegetables and bread. At the end 
of ten days the four young men were brought into the room where 
the great King Nebuchadnezzar sat; and they bowed low before 
him. King Nebuchadnezzar was pleased with these four young 
men, more than with any others who stood before him. He found 
them wise, and faithful in the work given to them, and able to rule 
over men under them. And these four men came to the highest 
places in the kingdom of the Chaldeans. 

And Daniel, one of these men, was more than a wise man. He 
was a prophet, like Elijah, and Elisha, and Jeremiah. God gave 
him to know many things that were coming to pass ; and when God 
sent to any man a dream that had a deep meaning, like Joseph in 



The King's Forgotten Dream 457 

Story Sixteen of Part First, Daniel could tell what was the meaning 
of the dream. 

At one time King Nebuchadnezzar dreamed a dream which 
troubled him greatly. When he awakened he knew that the dream 
had some deep meaning, but in the morning he had forgotten what 
the dream was. He sent for the wise men who had in times past 
given him the meaning of his dreams, and said to them : 

" ye wise men, I have dreamed a wonderful dream ; but I have 
forgotten it. Now tell me what my dream was, and then tell me 
what it means ; for I am sure that it has a meaning." 

The wise men said: 

" king, may you live forever! If you will tell us your dream, 
we will tell you its meaning. But we have no power to tell both the 
dream and also its meaning. That only the gods can know." 

The king became very angry, for these men had claimed that 
their gods gave them all knowledge. He said: 

"Tell me the dream, and its meaning; and I will give you rich 
reward and high honor. But if you cannot tell, I shall know that 
you are liars, and you shall be put to death." 

The wise men could not do what the king asked; and in great 
fury he gave command that all of them should be slain. Among 
these men were Daniel and his three friends, Shadrach, Meshach, 
and Abed-nego ; and these four Jews were to be slain with the rest 
of the wise men. Daniel said to the chief captain, who had been 
sent to kill the wise men : 

" Give me a little time; and I will call upon my God. I know 
that he will help me to tell to the king his dream and its meaning. ' ' 

So time was given ; and Daniel and his three friends prayed to 
the Lord God. That night the Lord gave to Daniel the secret of 
the king's dream and its meaning. Then Daniel gave praise and 
thanks to the Lord ; and in the morning he said to the king's captain : 

"Do not kill the wise men. Take me before the king, and I 
will show him his dream and its meaning." 

Then in haste Daniel was brought before King Nebuchadnezzar. 
The king said to him: 

"Are you able to tell me the dream that I dreamed and the 
meaning of it?" 

Daniel answered: 

"The wise men of Babylon, who look to their idol-gods, cannot 



45^ The Jewish Captives in the King's Court 

tell the king his dream. But there is a God in heaven who knows 
all things; and he has given me his servant to know your dream 
and the meaning of it. This is the dream, O king. You saw a 
great image, tall and noble-looking. The head of this image was 
of gold, his breast and his arms were of silver, his waist and his hips 
of brass, his legs of iron, and his feet and toes were of iron and clay 
mixed together. And while this great image was standing, you 
saw a stone cut out without hands ; and the stone rolled and dashed 
against the feet of the image ; and the whole image fell down ; and 
was broken in pieces; and was crushed and ground into a powder 
so fine that the wind blew it away like chaff. And you saw the 
stone that struck the image grow until it became a mountain, and 
it filled the whole world. This was your dream, O king." 

And Daniel went on, and said: 

"And this, O king, is the meaning of the dream. God has 
shown to you what shall come to pass in the years that are to be. 
You are that head of gold, O king; for that head means your king- 
dom that now is. After your kingdom has passed away, another 
kingdom shall take its place ; the shoulders and arms of silver. That 
kingdom shaH'be followed by another, — the waist and hips of brass, 
and after that shall come one more kingdom, that of iron. But as 
you saw a stone cut out without hands ; so while the last of these 
kingdoms shall be standing, the Lord God of heaven shall set up his 
kingdom. And God's kingdom like that stone, shall be small at 
first, but it shall break down and destroy all those kingdoms. They 
shall pass away and perish before it. And as you saw the stone 
grow into a mountain, so God's kingdom shall become great, and 
shall rule all the lands. And that kingdom of God shall never pass 
away, but shall last forever." 

When King Nebuchadnezzar heard this he was filled with won- 
der. He bowed down before Daniel, and worshipped him, as though 
Daniel were a god. Then he gave to him great presents, and made 
him ruler over the part of his kingdom where the city of Babylon 
was standing. He gave to Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego, 
Daniel's friends, high offices; but Daniel himself he kept in his 
palace, to be near him all the time. 



Story Xlim. 



THE GOLDEN IMAGE AND THE FIERY 

FURNACE. 

Daniel iii : i to 30. 




iT one time King Nebuchadnezzar caused a great image 
to be made and to be covered with gold. This 
image he set up as an idol to be worshipped, on the 
plain of Dura, near the city of Babylon. When it 
was finished, it stood upon its base or foundation 
almost a hundred feet high, so that upon the plain it could be 
seen far away. Then the king sent out a command for all the 
princes, and rulers, and nobles in the land to come to a great 
gathering, when the image was to be set apart for worship. 

The great men of the kingdom came from far and near, and 
stood around the image. Among them, by command of the king, 
were Daniel's three friends, the young Jews, Shadrach, Meshach, 
and Abed-nego. For some reason Daniel himself was not there. 
He may have been busy with the work of the kingdom in some other 
place. 

At one moment in the service before the image all the trumpets 
sounded, the drums were beaten, and music was made upon musical 
instruments of all kinds, as a signal for all the people to kneel down- 
and worship the great golden image. But while the people were 
kneeling there were three men who stood up and would not bow 
down. These were the three young Jews, Shadrach, Meshach, and 
Abed-nego. They knelt down before the Lord God only. 

Many of the nobles had been jealous of these young men 
because they had been lifted to high places in the rule of the king- 
dom, and these men, who hated Daniel and his friends, were glad 
to find that these three men had not obeyed the command of King 
Nebuchadnezzar. The king had said that if any one did not wor- 
ship the golden image he should be thrown into a furnace of fire. 

(459) 



460 The Golden Image and the Fiery Furnace 

These men who hated the Jews came to the king, and said, " O king, 
may you live forever! You gave orders that when the music 
sounded every one should bow down and worship the golden image ; 
and that if any man did not worship he should be thrown into a 
furnace of fire. There are some Jews whom you have made rulers 
in the land, and they have not done as you commanded. Their 
names are Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego. They do not serve 
your gods, nor worship the golden image that you have set up." 

Then Nebuchadnezzar was filled with rage and fury at knowing 
that any one should dare to disobey his words. He sent for these 
three men, and said to them, "O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed- 
nego, was it by purpose that you did not fall down and worship the 
image of gold? The music shall sound once more, and if you then 
will worship the image, it shall be well. But if you will not, then 
you shall be thrown into the furnace of fire to die. ' ' 

These three young men were not afraid of the king. They said, 
" O King Nebuchadnezzar, we are ready to answer you at once. 
The God whom we serve is able to save us from the fiery furnace 
and we know that he will save us. But if it is God's will that we 
should die, even then, you may understand, O king, that we will 
not serve your gods, nor worship the golden image that you have 
set up." 

This answer made the king more furious than before. He said 
to his servants, "Make a fire in the furnace hotter than ever it has 
been before, as hot as fire can be made, and throw these three men 
into it." 

Then the soldiers of the king's army seized the three young 
Jews as they stood in their loose robes, with their turbans or hats on 
their heads. They tied them with ropes, and dragged them to the 
mouth of the furnace, and threw them into the fire. The flames 
rushed from the opened door with such fury that they burned even 
to death the soldiers who were holding these men; and the men 
themselves fell down bound into the middle of the fiery furnace. 

King Nebuchadnezzar stood in front of the furnace, and looked 
into the open door. As he looked he was filled with wonder at what 
he saw ; and he said to the nobles around him : 

" Did we not throw three men bound into the fire? How is it 
then that I see four men loose, walking in the furnace, and ?be 
fourth man looks as though he were a son of the gods ? " 




KING NEBUCHADNEZZAR LOOKING INTO THE FIERY FURNACE 



The Men Safe in the Fire 



461 



The king came near to the door of the furnace as the fire 
became lower, and he called out to the three men within it : 

"ShadraclvMeshach, and Abed-nego, ye who serve the Most 
High God, come out of the fire and come to me." 

They came out and stood before the king, in the sight of all thej- 
princes, and 
nobles, and 
rulers; and 
every one 
could see that 
they were 
alive. Their 
garments had 
not been 
scorched, nor 
their hair 
singed, nor 
was there even 
the smell of 
fire upon 
them. The 
king, Nebu- 
chadne zzar, 
said before all 
his rulers : 

"Blessed 
be the God of 
these men, who 
has sent his 
angel and has 
saved their 
lives. I make 
a law that no 

man in all my kingdoms shall say a word against their God, for 
there is no other god who can save in this manner. And if any 
man speaks a word against their God, the Most High God, that 
man shall be cut in pieces, and his house shall be torn down." 
And after this the king lifted up these three young men to still 
higher places in the land of Babylon. 




THE THREE YOUNG JEWS WERE NOT AFRAID OF THE KING. 



Story €en. 



THE TREE THAT WAS CUT DOWN AND 
GREW AGAIN. 

Daniel iv : i to 37. 




HIS is the story that King Nebuchadnezzar himself 
told to all the people in his great kingdom, of a 
strange dream that came to him, the meaning of 
the dream, as it was given by Daniel, and how the 
dream came true. He said, "Nebuchadnezzar the 
king sends this message to all the people, and nations, that live in 
all the world. May peace be given to you ! It has seemed good to 
me to show you the signs and wonders that the Most High God 
has sent to me. How great are God's works! How mighty are 
his wonders ! His kingdom is without end, and his rule is from age 
to age forever ! 

"I, King Nebuchadnezzar, was at rest in my house, and was 
living at peace in my palace. One night a dream came to me which 
made me afraid, and my thoughts and my visions made me troubled 
in heart. I sent for all the wise men of Babylon to come before me, 
and to tell me the meaning of my dream. But they did not tell me 
what the meaning was because they could not. At last came 
Daniel, in whom is the spirit of the holy gods ; and to him I said : 

"0 Daniel, master of the wise men, I know that in you is the 
spirit of the holy gods, and that no secret is hidden from you ; now 
tell me what is the meaning of the dream that has come to me. This 
was the dream: 

"I saw a tree standing upon the earth. It grew until the top 
of it reached up to heaven ; and it was so great that it could be seen 
over all the earth. The leaves of it were beautiful, and its fruit was 
in plenty, and gave food for all. The beasts in the field stood in its 
shadow, and the birds of the heaven lived on its branches, and many 
people ate of its fruit. 

(462) 



The Voice of the Holy One 



463 



14 1 saw in my dream that a Holy One came down from heaven 
He cried aloud, and said: 

" 'Hew down the tree, and cut off its branches, shake off its 
leaves, and scatter its fruit. Let the beasts get away from beneath 
it, and let the 
birds fly from its 
branches. But 
leave the stump 
of the tree with 
its roots in the 
ground, with a 
band of iron and 
of brass around 
it, and the grass 
of the field grow- 
ing about it. Let 
the stump be wet 
with the dew 
from heaven, and 
let it be among 
the beasts eating 
the grass of the 
field. And let 
seven years pass 
over it; that 
those who live 
may know that 
the Most High 
God rules over 
the kingdoms of 
men, and gives 
them as is pleas- 
ing to his will.' 
This dream I 
saw, and now, O 
Daniel, whose name is Belteshazzar, tell me what it means. Then 
Daniel stood surprised and wondering, and was in deep trouble. 
And I, Nebuchadnezzar, said to him, ' Daniel, let not the dream 
give you trouble. Fear not to tell me what is the meaning of it.' 




Nebuchadnezzar's reason leaves him. 



464 Tree That was Cut Down and Grew Again 

"Then Daniel said to me, 'My lord, O king, may the dream be 
to those who hate you, and the meaning to your enemies ! The tree 
which you saw, with green leaves, and rich fruit, and height reaching 
to heaven, and in sight of all the earth ; that tree is yourself. You 
have become great; your power reaches up to heaven, and your 
rule is over all the lands. 

" ' And as you saw a Holy One coming down from heaven, say- 
ing, "Cut down the tree, and destroy it; but leave its stump in the 
earth, with a band of iron and of brass until seven years pass over 
it," this is the meaning, O king, and it is the command of the Most 
High God that shall come upon my lord the king. 

" ' You, O king, shall be driven away from men. You shall live 
with the beasts of the field ; you shall be made to eat grass like oxen ; 
and you shall be wet with the dew of heaven ; and seven years shall 
pass over you, until you know that the Most High God rules in your 
kingdom, and gives it to the one whom he chooses. And as the 
Holy One gave command to leave the stump of the tree with its 
roots, so it shall be with you. Your kingdom shall stand and shall 
be sure to you, and shall come back to you when you have known 
that he who sits in the heavens shall rule over the earth. 

" 'And now, O king, take my advice, and break off from your 
sins, and do right, and show mercy to the poor. It may be that 
God will give to you more days of peace.' 

"All this Daniel said to me, King Nebuchadnezzar; and it 
came to pass. Twelve months afterward I was walking in my 
kingly palace. I looked over the city, and said, ' Is not this great 
Babylon that I have built for my own royal home, by my power, 
and for my own glory? ' 

"While the word was in my mouth a voice fell from heaven, 
saying, 'O King Nebuchadnezzar, the word has been spoken, and 
your kingdom is gone from you ! ' 

"And in that hour my reason left me, and another heart was 
given to me, the heart of a beast instead of the heart of a man. I 
was driven out of my palace, and lived among the beasts, and ate 
grass as oxen eat it ; and my body was wet with the dew of heaven, 
until my hair was grown like eagles' feathers, and my nails like 
birds' claws. 

" And at the end of seven years my mind came back to me, and 
my reason returned. I blessed the king of heaven, and praised him 



The New Kingdom 465 

that lives forever. My kingdom was given to me once more, my 
princes and rulers came to me again, and I was again the king over 
all the lands. 

" Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and honor the king of heaven. 
His words are truth and his works are right ; and those who walk in 
pride he is able to make humble." 

This was the story of the seven years' madness of King Nebu- 
chadnezzar, and of his reason and his power coming back to him 
again. 



Storu £kvm. 



THE WRITING UPON THE WALL. 

Daniel v : i to 31. 




HE great kingdom or empire of Nebuchadnezzar was 
made up of many smaller kingdoms which he had 
conquered. As long as he lived his kingdom was 
strong; but as soon as he died it began to fall in 
pieces. His son became king in his place, but was 
soon slain ; and one king followed another quickly for some years. 
The last king was named Nabonidus. He made his son Bels- 
hazzar king with himself, and left Belshazzar to rule in the city 
of Babylon, while he was caring for the more distant parts of the 
kingdom. 

But a new nation was rising to power. Far to the east were 
the kingdoms of Media and Persia. These two peoples had become 
one, and were at war with Babylon, under their great leader, Cyrus. 
While Belshazzar was ruling in the city of Babylon, Cyrus and his 
Persian soldiers were on the outside, around the walls, trying to 
take the city. These walls were so great and high that the Persian 
soldiers could not break through them. 
30 



4 66 



The Writing Upon the Wall 



But inside the city were many who were enemies of Belshazzar 
and were friendly to Cyrus. These people opened the gates of 
Babylon to Cyrus. At night he brought his army quietly into the 
city and surrounded the palace of King Belshazzar. 

On that night King Belshazzar was holding in the palace a 
great feast in honor of his god. On the tables were the golden cups 
and vessels that Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the Temple of the 
Lord in Jerusalem ; and around the table were the king, his many 
wives, and a thousand of his princes and nobles. They did not 




BELSHAZZAR GIVES A GREAT FEAST IN HONOR OF HIS GOD. 



know that their city was taken, and that their enemies were at the 
very doors of the palace. 

While they were all drinking wine together suddenly a strange 
thing was seen. On the wall appeared a great hand writing letters 
and words that no one could read. Every eye was drawn to the 
spot, and all saw the fingers moving on the wall, and the letters 
written. The king was filled with fear. His face became pale and 
his knees shook. He called for the wise men of Babylon, who were 
with him in the palace, to tell what the writing meant. He said, 
" Whoever can read the words on the wall shall be dressed in a 



Daniel Sent For 



467 



purple robe, and shall have a chain of gold around his neck, and 
shall rank next to King Belshazzar as the third ruler in the king- 
dom." 

But not one of the wise men could read it, for God had not 
given to them the power. At last the queen of Babylon said to 
Belshazzar, " king, may you live forever! There is one man who 
can read this writing, a man in whom is the spirit of the holy gods, 
a man whom Nebuchadnezzar, your father, made master of all the 
wise men. His 
name is Daniel. 
Send for him, 
and he will tell 
you what these 
words are and 
what they 
mean." 

Daniel was 
now an old 
man; and 
since the time 
when Nebu- 
chadnezza r 
died he had 
been no longer 
in his high 
place as ruler 
and chief ad- 
v i s e r of the 

king. They sent for Daniel, and he came. The king said to him, 
"Are you that Daniel who was brought many years ago by my 
father to this city? I have heard of you, that the spirit of the holy 
gods is upon you, and that you have wisdom and knowledge. If 
you can read this writing upon the wall, and tell me what it means, 
I will give you a purple robe, and a gold chain, and a place next to 
myself as the third ruler in the kingdom." 

And Daniel answered the king, "You may keep your rewards 
yourself, and may give your gifts to whom you please, for I do not 
want them ; but I will read to you the writing. O king, the Most 
High God gave to Nebuchadnezzar this kingdom, and great power, 




THE FALL OF BABYLON. 



468 The Writing Upon the Wall 

and glory. But when Nebuchadnezzar became proud, and boasted 
of his greatness, then the Lord took from him his crown and his 
throne, and let him live among the beasts of the field, until he knew 
that the most High God rules over the kingdoms of men. O Bel- 
shazzar, you knew all this, yet you have not been humble in heart. 
You have risen up against the Lord, and have taken the vessels of 
his house, and have drunk wine in them in honor of your own gods 
of wood and stone ; but you have not praised the Lord God who 
has given to you your kingdom and your power. For this reason 
God has sent this hand to write these words upon the wall. This 
is the writing, MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN. And this 
is the meaning, Numbered, Numbered, Weighed, Divided. 

" MENE : God has counted the years of your kingdom, and has 
brought it to an end. 

''TEKEL: You have been weighed in the balances, and have 
been found wanting. 

" UPHARSIN: Your kingdom is divided, and taken from you. 
and given to the Medes and the Persians." 

King Belshazzar could scarcely believe what he heard ; but he 
commanded that the promised reward be given to Daniel. And 
almost while he was speaking his end came. The Persians and the 
Medes burst into his palace ; they seized Belshazzar and killed him 
in the midst of his feast. 

On that night the empire or great kingdom set up by Nebu- 
chadnezzar came to an end. A new empire arose, greater than 
that of Babylon, called the Persian Empire. And in the place of 
Belshazzar, Cyrus, the commander of the Persians, made an old 
man named Darius king until the time when he was ready to take 
the kingdom for himself. 

This empire of Persia was the third of the world-kingdoms of 
which we read in the Bible. The first was the Assyrian kingdom, 
having Nineveh for its capital. This was the kingdom that carried 
the Ten Tribes of Israel into captivity. The second was the 
Babylonian or Chaldean kingdom, which carried the Jews into 
captivity. And the third was the Persian kingdom, which lasted 
two hundred years, ruling all the lands named in the Bible. 



Story CxdcIdc. 



DANIEL IN THE DEN OF LIONS. 

Daniel vi : i to 28. 




QHE lands which had been the Babylonian or Chaldean 
empire now became the empire of Persia ; and over 
these Darius was the king. King Darius gave to 
Daniel, who was now a very old man, a high place 
in honor and in power. Among all the rulers over 
the land Daniel stood first, for the king saw that he was wise, and 
able to rule. This made the other princes and rulers very jealous, 
and they tried to find something evil in Daniel, so that they could 
speak to the king against him. 

These men knew that three times every day Daniel went to 
his room, and opened the window that was toward the city of 
Jerusalem, and looking toward Jerusalem made his prayer to God. 
Jerusalem was at that time in ruins, and the Temple was no longer 
standing; but Daniel prayed three times each day with his face 
toward the place where the house of God had once stood, although 
it was many hundreds of miles away. 

These nobles thought that in Daniel's prayers they could find 
a chance to do him harm, and perhaps cause him to be put to death. 
They came to King Darius, and said to him : 

"All the rulers have agreed together to have a law made that 
for thirty days no one shall ask .anything of any god or any man, 
except from you, king ; and that if any one shall pray to any god, 
or shall ask anything from any man during thirty days, except from 
you, king, he shall be thrown into the den where the lions are kept. 
Now, king, make the law, and sign the writing, so that it cannot 
be changed, for no law among the Medes and Persians can be 
altered." 

The king was not a wise man, and being foolish and vain, he 
was pleased with this law which would set him even above the gods. 
So, without asking Daniel's advice, he signed the writing; and the 

(469) 



47° 



Daniel in the Den of Lions 



law was made, and the word was sent out through the kingdom 
that for thirty days no one should pray to any god, or ask a favor 
of any man. 

Daniel knew that the law had been made, but every day he 
went to his room three times, and opened the window that looked 
toward Jerusalem, and offered his prayer to the Lord, just as he had 
prayed in other times. These rulers were watching near by, and 
they saw Daniel kneeling in prayer to God. Then they came to the 
king, and said, "O King Darius, have you not made a law that if 




DANIEL IN THE DEN OF LIONS. 



any one in thirty days offers a prayer, he shall be thrown into the 
den of lions?" "It is true," said the king. "The law'has been 
made, and it must stand." 

They said to the king, "There is one man who does not obey 
the law which you have made. It is that Daniel, one of the captive 
Jews. Every day Daniel prays to his God three times, just as he 
did before you signed the writing of the law." 

Then the king was very sorry for what he had done, for he 
loved Daniel, and knew that no one could take his place in the king- 
dom. All day, until the sun went down, he tried in vain to find 



The King Could Not Sleep 



471 



some way to save Daniel's life ; but when evening came these men 
again told him of the law that he had made, and said to him that 
it must be kept. Very unwillingly the king sent for Daniel, and 
gave an order that he should be thrown into the den of lions. He 
said to Daniel, ''Perhaps your God, whom you serve so faithfully, 
will save you from the lions." 

They led Daniel to the mouth of the pit where the lions were 
kept, and they threw him in; and over the mouth they placed a 
stone; and the king sealed it with his own seal and with the seals 




SWERS THE KING. 



of his nobles, so that no one might take away the stone and let 
Daniel out of the den. 

Then the king went again to his palace, but that night he was 
so sad that he could not eat, nor did he listen to music as he was 
used to listen. He could not sleep, for all through the night he was 
thinking of Daniel. Very early in the morning he rose up from his 
bed, and went in haste to the den of lions. He broke the seal, and 
took away the stone, and in a voice full of sorrow he called out, 
scarcely hoping to hear any answer except the roaring of the lions, 
"O Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God been able to 
keep you safe from the lions?" 



472 Daniel in the Den of Lions 

And out of the darkness in the den came the voice of Daniel, 
saying, " king, may you live forever! My God has sent his angel, 
and has shut the mouths of the lions. They have not hurt me, 
because my God saw that I had done no wrong. And I have done 
no wrong toward you, king!" 

Then the king was glad. He gave to his servants orders to 
take Daniel out of the den. Daniel was brought out safe and with- 
out harm, because he had trusted fully in the Lord God. Then, by 
the king's command, they seized those men who had spoken against 
Daniel, and with them their wives and their children, for the king 
was exceedingly angry with them. They were all thrown into the 
den, and the hungry lions leaped upon them, and tore them in 
pieces as soon as they fell upon the floor of the den. 

It was very cruel and unjust to put to death with these men 
their wives and children, who had done no wrong, either to King 
Darius or to Daniel. But cruel and unjust as it was, such things 
were very common in all the lands of that part of the world. The 
lives of people were but little cared for, and children often suffered 
death for their parent's crime. 

After this King Darius wrote to all the lands and the peoples 
in the many kingdoms under his rule, " May peace be given to you 
all abundantly! I make a law that everywhere among my king- 
doms men fear and worship the Lord God of Daniel, for he is the 
living God, above all other gods, who only can save men." 

And Daniel stood beside King Darius unto the end of his reign, 
and afterward while Cyrus the Persian was king over all the lands. 

Daniel lived for a number of years after being saved from the 
lions. He had several wonderful dreams and visions, which showed 
him what would come to pass many years afterward, and even to 
the coming of Jesus Christ, 



Story Cfyirteen. 



THE STORY OF A JOYOUS JOURNEY. 

Ezra i : i, to iii : 7. 




E have seen, in the story of the kingdom of Israel, or the 
Ten Tribes, how the great empire of Assyria arose 
from the city of Nineveh, on the Tigris river; how it 
ruled all the lands and carried away the Ten Tribes 
of Israel into captivity, from which they never came 
back to their own land. (Story Eighteen in Part Fourth.) We 
saw, too, how the empire of Assyria went down, and the empire of 
Babylon, or Chaldea, arose in its place under Nebuchadnezzar. 
(Story Six in this Part.) As soon as Nebuchadnezzar died, the 
empire of Babylon began to fall, and in its place arose the empire 
of Persia, under Cyrus, who is called Cyrus the Great, because of 
his many victories and his wide rule. His empire was much greater 
than either the Assyrian or the Chaldean empire, for it held in its 
rule the land of Egypt, all the lands known as Asia Minor, and 
also many lands in the far east. 

Cyrus, the great king, was a friend to the Jews, who at this 
time were still living in the land of Chaldea, between the Tigris and 
Euphrates rivers. It was now seventy years since the first com- 
pany of captives had been taken away from the land of Judah by 
Nebuchadnezzar (see Story Six in this Part), and fifty years since 
the city of Jerusalem had been burned. By that time the Jews 
were no longer looked upon as captives in the land of Chaldea. 
They lived in their own houses, and tilled their own farms, and were 
in peace. Many of them were rich, and some of them, like Daniel 
and his three friends, were in high places at the court of the king. 

You remember that in the early days of the captivity, Jeremiah 
the prophet wrote a letter to those who had been carried away to 
Babylon, telling them that after seventy years they would come 
back to their own land. (Story Six.) The seventy years were now 
.ended. The older men and women who had been taken away had 

(473) 



474 The Story of a Joyous Journey 

died in the land of Chaldea, but their children, and their children's 
children still loved the land of Judah as their own land, although it 
was so far away. 

The Lord put it into the heart of Cyrus, the king of Persia, very 
early in his reign, to send word among the Jews that they might now 
go back to their own land. This was the word, as it was written 
and sent out: 

"Thus saith Cyrus, the king of Persia, The Lord, the God of 
heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth; and he has 
commanded me to build him a house in Jerusalem, in the land of 
Judah. Therefore, let those of the people of God who are among 
you go up to Jerusalem, and help to build the house of the Lord. 
And those who do not go to Jerusalem, but stay in the places where 
they are living, let them give to those who go back to their own land 
gifts of gold and silver, and beasts to carry them, and goods, and 
also a free gift toward the building of the house of the Lord in Jeru- 
salem." 

At this the Jews in the land of Chaldea were very glad, for they 
loved their own land, and longed to see it. One of them wrote a 
song at this time. It is Psalm 126: 

' When the Lord turned again the captivity of Zion, 

We were like unto them that dream, 
Then was our mouth filled with laughter, 

And our tongue with singing. 
Then said they among the nations, 

' The Lord hath done great things for them,' 
The Lord hath done great things for us; 

Whereof we are glad. 
Turn again our captivity, O Lord, 

As the streams in the South. 
They that sow in tears 

Shall reap in joy, 
Though he goeth on his way weeping, 

Bearing forth the seed, 
He shall come again with joy, 

Bringing his sheaves with him. " 

So the Jewish people began to make ready for going back to 
their own land. Those who were rich, and noble in rank, stayed in 
the land of Chaldea and in other lands of the Persian Empire. But 
though they did not go back to the land from which their fathers 



The Jews Going Back to Jerusalem 475 



had come, they gave large gifts of gold and silver to help those who 
did go. And Cyrus, the king, took from the treasure-house in 
Babylon all the vessels of the Temple that had been taken away 
by Nebuchadnezzar, and gave them to the Jews, to be used in the 
new Temple which they were soon to build. These were plates, and 
dishes, and bowls, and cups of gold and silver, more than four thou- 
sand in all. So, with the gifts of the king, and the gifts of their own 
people, and what was owned by those who went to the land of Judah, 
the company took away a vast treasure of gold and silver. 

It was a happy company of people that met together for the 
journey back to the land which they still called their own, though 
very few of them had seen it. There were forty-two thousand of 
them, besides their servants to help them in the journey. They 
travelled slowly 
up the Euphrates 
river, singing 
songs of joy, until 
they reached the 
northern end of 
the great desert. 
Then they turned 
toward the south- 
west, and jour- 
neyed beside the 
Lebanon moun- 
tains, past Damascus, and through Syria, until at last they came 
to the land of their fathers, the land of Judah. 

With all their joy they must have felt sad when they saw the 
city of Jerusalem all in ruins, its walls broken down, its houses heaps 
of blackened stone, its once beautiful Temple burned into a heap of 
ashes. 

As soon as they came, they found the rock where the altar of 
the Lord had stood, the same rock where David had long before 
offered a sacrifice (see Story Sixteen in Part Third), and the same 
rock upon which travellers look even in our time under the Dome 
of the Rock. From the smooth face of this rock they gathered up 
the stones, and swept away the ashes and the dust. Then they 
built upon it the altar of the Lord, and Joshua, the high-priest, 
began to offer the sacrifices which for fifty years had not been 




A DISTANT VIEW OF 
JERUSALEM. 



47 6 The Story of a Joyous Journey 

placed upon the altar. Every morning and every afternoon they 
laid on the altar the bumt-offering, and thus gave themselves to 
the Lord, and asked God's help. 

From this time there were two branches of the Jewish race. 
Those who came back to the land of Judah, which was also called 
the land of Israel, were called ''Hebrews," which was an old name 
of the Israelites. Those who stayed in the lands abroad, in Chaldea 
and throughout the empire of Persia, were called "the Jews of the 
Dispersion, ' ' There were far more of the Jews abroad than in their 
own land, and they were the richer, and the greater people. Many 
of them went up to Jerusalem to visit and to worship, and many 
others sent rich gifts; so that between the two great branches of 
the Jewish people, in their own land and in other lands, there was 
a close friendship, and they all felt that wherever the Jews were 
they were still one people. 

The Jews who had been captives in the land of Babylon were 
now free to go wherever they chose ; and besides those who went 
back to the land of their fathers, there were many who chose, to 
visit other lands, wherever they could find work and get gain. It 
was not many years before Jews were found in many cities of the 
Persian Empire. They went also to Africa, and also to Europe, 
choosing the cities for their home rather than the country. Every- 
where, in all the great cities, the ''Jews of the Dispersion" were 
found, besides those who were living in their own land of Israel. 

When the Jews came back to their land their leader was named 
Zerubbabel, a word which means "One born in Bahylon." He 
belonged to the family of David, and was called "the prince"; but 
he ruled under the commands of Cyrus, the great king, for Judah 
(which now began to be spoken of as Judea) was a small part, or 
"province" as it was called, in the great empire of Persia. 



Story fourteen. 



THE NEW TEMPLE ON MOUNT MORIAH. 

Ezra iii : 8, to vi : 22 ; Haggai i : 1, to ii : 23 ; Zechariah iv : 6 to 10, 




FTER the Jews came back to their own land they first 
built the altar upon Mount Moriah, as we read in the 
last Story. Then they built some houses for them- 
selves, for the winter was coming on. And early in 
the next year they began to build again the Temple 
of the Lord. Zerubbabel, the prince, and Joshua, the priest, led 
in the work, and the priests and Levites helped in it. They gave 
money to masons, and carpenters, and they paid men of Tyre and 
Sidon, on the shore of the Great Sea, to float down cedar-trees from 
Mount Lebanon to Joppa; and from Joppa they carried them up 
the mountains to Jerusalem for the building of the house. 

When they laid the first stones in the new T building the priests 
in their robes stood ready with trumpets, and the Levites with cym- 
bals, to praise the Lord for his goodness in bringing them once again 
to their own land. The singers sang: 

" Praise the Lord, for he is good: 
His mercy endureth forever toward Israel his people." 

And all the people shouted with a great shout as the first stones 
were laid. But some of the priests, and Levites, and Jews, were old 
men who had seen the first Temple, while it was still standing, more 
than fifty years before. These old men wept as they thought of 
the house that had been burned, and of their friends who had been 
slain in the destruction of the city. Some wept, and some shouted, 
but the sound was heard together, and those who heard at a distance 
could not tell the weeping from the shouting. 

But these builders soon found enemies, and were hindered in 
their work. In the middle of the land, near the cities of Shechem 
and Samaria, were living the Samaritan people, some of whom were 
from the old Ten Tribes, and others from the people that had been 

(477) 



478 The New Temple on Mount Moriah 

brought into the land by the Assyrians many years before. (See 
Story Eighteen in Part Fourth.) These worshipped the Lord, but 
with the Lord they worshipped other gods. These people came to 
the Prince Zerubbabel, and said, "Let us join with you in building 
this house, for we seek the Lord as you do, and we offer sacrifices 
to him." 

But Zerubbabel and the rulers said to them, "You are not with 
us, and you do not worship as we worship. You have nothing to 
do with us in building the Lord's house. We will build by our- 
selves to our God, the God of Israel, as Cyrus, the king of Persia, 
has told us to build. " 

This made the people of Samaria very angry. They tried to 
stop the Jews from building, and frightened them, and wrote letters 
to the king, urging him to stop the work. Cyrus, the king, was a 
friend to the Jews, but he was in a land far away in the east, carrying 
on war, so that he could not help them ; and soon after this he died. 
His son, who took his great kingdom, did not care for the Jews, and 
he, too, died in a few years. Then a nobleman of another family 
seized the throne, and held it nearly a year before he was slain. His 
name was Smerdis, but he is called in the Bible by another name, 
Artaxerxes. While this king was reigning, the Samaritan rulers 
wrote to him a letter, saying: 

1 * Let it be known to the king that the Jews have come back to 
Jerusalem. They are building again the city which was always 
bad, and would not obey the kings when it was standing before. 
If that city be built, and its walls finished, then the Jews will not 
serve the king, nor pay to him their taxes. We are true to the king, 
and we do not wish to see harm come to his rule. Of old time this 
city was rebellious, and for that cause it was laid waste. If it is 
built again, soon the king will have no power anywhere on this side 
of the river Euphrates." 

The King Smerdis, or Artaxerxes, wrote an answer to the chief 
men of Samaria, thus: 

"The letter which you sent has been read to me. I have 
caused search to be made in the records; and I find that the city 
of Jerusalem has been in old time a strong city, with great kings 
ruling in it, and ruling also the lands around it. I find, too, that 
this city did rise up and make war against the kings of empires 
in the past. Command the men who are building the city of 



The Prophets of the Jews 



479 



Jerusalem to stop the work ; and let it not go on until an order is 
given from the king." 

The Samaritans and other enemies of the Jews were glad to 
have this letter come from the great king of Persia. They went to 
Jerusalem and made the work of building the Temple and the city 
stop. So the foundations of the Temple lay unfinished through 
several years. 

But after a time two prophets arose in the land of Judea. They 
were Haggai and Zechariah ; and they spoke the word of the Lord 




JERUSALEM OF TO-DAY. 



to the people, telling them to go forward with the building. Haggai 
said, " Is it a time for you to dwell in richly finished houses of your 
own while the Lord's house, lies waste? Go up to the mountains, 
and bring wood, and build ; and I will be pleased with you, and will 
bless you, saith the Lord. The glory of this house shall be greater 
than the glory of the other house, and in this place I will give peace, 
saith the Lord of hosts." 

And Zechariah, the other prophet, said, "It shall not be by 
might nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord. The hands 



480 The New Temple on Mount Moriah 

of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house, and his hands 
shall finish it. He shall lay the head-stone with shoutings of ' Grace, 
grace unto it!' " 

Then Zerubbabel, and Joshua, and the rest of the Jews, began 
again, and went on with the work. Soon after this a new king 
began to reign in Persia. .He was a wise man and a great ruler, 
whose name was Darius. 

King Darius looked in the records of Persia, and found it 
written that Cyrus, the king, had commanded the Temple to be 
built. He wrote a letter to the rulers in all the lands around Judea 
no longer to hinder the work, but to help it, and to give what was 
needed for it. Then the Jews went on with the building in great 
joy; and it was finished at last, twenty-one years after it had been 
begun, while Zerubbabel, the prince, and Joshua, the priest, were 
still ruling over the people. 

The Temple, which was thus built for the second time, was like 
the one built by Solomon nearly five hundred years before (see Story 
Nineteen in Part Third) ; but though larger, it was not so beautiful 
nor costly. In front of it was an open court, with a wall around it, 
where the people could go to worship. Next to the people's court, 
on higher ground, was the priests' court, where stood the altar, and 
the laver for washing. Within this court rose the house of God, 
with the Holy Place, and the Holy of Holies, separated by a great 
vail. In the Holy Place, as before, stood the table for bread, the 
golden lampstand, and the golden altar for incense. But in the 
Holy of Holies there was no ark of the covenant, for this had been 
lost, and was never brought back to Jerusalem. In place of the 
ark stood a marble block, upon which the high-priest sprinkled the 
blood, when he went into the Holy of Holies, on the great day of 
atonement, once in each year. (See the account of the Tabernacle 
and its worship in Story Twenty-eight in Part First.) 



Story 5^ teen - 



THE BEAUTIFUL QUEEN OF PERSIA. 

Esther i : i, to x : 3. 




jHEN Darius, the great king, died, his son Xerxes, who 
is called in the Bible Ahasuerus, took his place upon 
the throne of Persia. Ahasuerus was not, like his 
father Darius, a wise man. He was hasty in his 
temper and did many foolish acts. 

At that time the palace where the king of Persia lived was no 
longer at Babylon, but at a city named Shushan, among the moun- 
tains of a region called Elam. King Ahasuerus held at Shushan a 
great feast with his nobles. When the king and his company were 
all drunken with wine, he sent for his queen, Vashti, that he might 
let all the nobles see how beautiful she was. Among the Persians 
it was held to be very wrong for a woman ever to allow her face to 
be seen by any man except her husband. Queen Vashti refused to 
come to the feast that these drunken men might stare at her. This 
made the king very angry. He said that because Vashti would not 
obey him, she should not be queen any longer, and he put her away 
from him and from his house. 

After this King Ahasuerus thought to choose another woman 
to be his queen instead of Vashti. He sent commands throughout 
all the kingdom that in every land and province they should find 
the most beautiful young women and bring them to the royal city 
of Shushan. There the king would see them all, and among them 
he would choose the one that pleased him best, and would take her 
as his queen. So from every land in the great empire of Persia the 
loveliest young women were brought to Shushan, and there they 
were left in the care of Hegai, the chief of the king's palace. 

At that time many Jews were living in the cities of Persia, for 

we have seen that only a small part of the Jews went back to the 

land of Israel when King Cyrus allowed them to return. (See Story 

Thirteen in this Part.) There was a Jew living in Shushan, named 

31 (481) 



482 The Beautiful Queen of Persia 

Mordecai. He belonged to the tribe of Benjamin, and came from 
the same family and line with Saul, the first of the kings of Israel. 
At the house of Mordecai lived his cousin, a young girl named 
Hadassah, or Esther, a name which means " Star." Her father and 
mother had died, and she had been left alone ; so Mordecai took her 
tc his own house, and brought her up as his own daughter. Esther 
was very beautiful, and was as lovely in her heart as she was in her 
face. Among the other beautiful young women she was taken to 
the palace as one of those who were to be brought before the king. 

When King Ahasuerus saw Esther, the Jewish girl, he loved her, 
and chose her out of all the young women to be his queen, and set 
upon her head the royal crown of Persia. Esther was taken into 
the king's palace; rooms and servants were given to her, and she 
lived in the state of a queen. When the king wished to see her he 
sent for her, and she came to his room. No one could go to the king 
or could see him unless sent for. And if any one, man or woman, 
came before the king without being called, that person was seized 
by the guards, and was led away to death, unless the king held out 
toward him his golden scepter, the rod which he held. 

In the palace Mordecai could no longer meet his cousin Esther, 
for no man except the king could enter the rooms set apart for the 
women. But Esther from her window could see Mordecai as he 
walked by, and by her servants she could send word to him, and in 
the same way could hear word from him. Mordecai loved the 
lovely young queen who was to him as a daughter, and every day 
sat at the gate of the palace to hear from her. 

While Mordecai was sitting by the gate he saw two men who 
were keepers of the gate often whispering together. He watched 
them closely, and found that they had made a plan to kill King 
Ahasuerus. He sent word of this to Queen Esther, and Esther told 
the king of it. The men were taken, and, as Mordecai's word was 
found to be true, they were both slain by being hanged on a tree. 
And an account or story of all their plan, of how they were found 
out by Mordecai the Jew, and how they were punished by death, 
was written in the book of records of the kingdom. 

After this a man named Haman arose to great power in the 
kingdom. The king gave him a seat above all the other princes, 
and asked his advice in all matters, and allowed Haman to do what- 
ever he pleased. Of course everybody in the palace showed great 




UUEEN ESTHtH Lu.v.NtJ TO THE KING. 



4B4 The Beautiful Queen of Persia 

respect to Haman, the man who stood next to the king. When he 
came near, all the men in the palace and in the city bowed down 
before him, and many fell on their faces, even in the very dust. But 
Mordecai was a worshipper of God, and he would not fall upon his 
face before any man. Haman noticed that there was one man who 
did not bow down, as did the others around him. He said to his 
servants, "Who is that man sitting by the gate, who does not bow 
down when I pass by?" 

They answered Haman, "That is Mordecai the Jew." 

But they did not tell Haman, for they did not know, that Mor- 
decai was the cousin of Queen Esther, and that the queen of Persia 
herself was a Jewess. 

When Haman found that Mordecai was a Jew he became very 
angry, not only at Mordecai, but at all his people. He hated the 
Jews, and he resolved to have revenge on Mordecai, and on his 
account to make all Mordecai's people suffer. Haman went in to 
the king, and said to him, "O King Ahasuerus, there is a certain 
people scattered abroad through your kingdom and apart from all 
other peoples. Their laws are different from those of every other 
nation, and they do not keep the king's laws. It is not well to allow 
such a people to live. If it is pleasing to the king, let a law be made 
that this strange people be destroyed. I will myself pay all the cost 
of putting them to death, and will place the money in the king's 
treasury." 

The king, living in his palace and never going out among his 
people, knew nothing of the Jews, and believed Hainan's words. 
He took from his hand the ring on which was the royal seal, and 
gave it to Haman, saying : 

"Do as you please; write whatever law you wish, and stamp 
it with the king's seal. The money is yours, and I give this strange 
people to you. You can do with them as you please." 

Then, by Haman 's command, a law was written, and sealed with 
the king's seal, that on a certain day, which was the thirteenth day 
of the twelfth month, all the Jews in every part of Persia might be 
slain. Any one who chose to kill them might do so ; and those who 
kill them might take for their own all their money, the gold, and 
silver, and garments which they might find in the houses of the 
Jews. 

The copies of this law were sent to every city of the empire of 



Queen Esther Hears of the Law 



485 



Persia, to be read everywhere, so that all might know that the Jews 
were to be destroyed. Everybody who heard of it was filled with 
wonder, for no one knew of any evil against the king that the Jews 
had done to deserve death. They could not undei stand why the 
law had been made ; but everywhere the enemies of the Jews made 
ready to destroy them, that they might have the Jews' riches ; for 
in those times, even as now, there was great wealth among the Jews. 
The news of this terrible law came to Mordecai, as it came to all 




ESTHER POINTS TO HAMAN AS HER ENEMY. 



the Jews in Shushan. Mordecai tore his clothes, as was the manner 
of those in deep grief ; he put on garments of sackcloth ; he covered 
his head with ashes, and he went forth in front of the palace, crying 
a loud and bitter cry. Queen Esther saw him and heard his voice. 
She sent one of her servants, named Hatach, to Mordecai, to find 
why he was in such deep trouble. Hatach came to Mordecai, and 
Mordecai told him of the law for killing the Jews on a certain day, 
the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, and gave him a copy of it 
to show to Queen Esther; and he told Hatach to ask the queen, in 
his name, to go in to King Ahasuerus and beg him to spare the iives 



486 The Beautiful Queen of Persia 

of her people. Queen Esther heard Hatach's words, and sent this 
message to Mordecai: 

"It is the rule of the palace that if any man or woman shall go 
in to the king in his own room, without being sent for by the king, 
he shall be slain unless the king holds out to him the golden scepter. 
But I have not been called to meet the king for thirty days." 

When Mordecai heard this message he sent word again by 
Hatach to Queen Esther: 

" Do not think that in the king's palace you are safe, and shall 
escape the fate of your people. If you keep still, and do nothing 
to save your people, God will surely save them in some other way; 
and you and your father's family shall be destroyed. Who can tell 
whether God has not raised you up and given you your royal place 
for such a time as this? " 

Then Esther sent this answer to Mordecai, "Go, and bring 
together all the Jews in Shushan, and let them all pray for me, 
eating and drinking nothing, for three days. I and my maids in 
the palace will pray and fast also at the same time. And then I will 
go in to the king, even though it is against the law ; and if it be God's 
will that I should die in trying to save my people, then I will die." 

When Mordecai heard these words he was glad, for he felt sure 
that God would save his people through Queen Esther. For three 
days all the Jews in Shushan met together, praying; and in the 
palace Esther and her servants were praying at the same time-. 

The third day came, and Esther dressed herself in all her robes 
as queen. She went out of her own rooms, and across the open 
court, and entered the door in front of the throne where the king 
was sitting. The king saw her standing before him, in all her 
beauty, and his heart was touched with love for her. He held out 
toward her the golden rod or scepter that was in his hand. . Esther 
came near, and touched the top of the scepter. The king said to her : 

"What do you wish, Queen Esther? It shall be given to you, 
even to the half of my kingdom." 

But Esther did not at once ask for all that was in her heart. 
She was very wise, and she said, " If it pleases the king, I have come 
to ask that the king and Haman, the prince, shall come this day to 
a dinner that I have made ready for them." 

The king said, "Send word to Haman that he haste, and come 
to dine with the king and queen." 



488 The Beautiful Queen of Persia 

So that day King Ahasuerus and Haman sat at the table with 
the queen. She was covered with a veil, for even Haman was not 
allowed to look upon her face. While they were sitting together, 
the king said, "Queen Esther, is there anything that you wish? 
It shall be given to you, whatever it is, even to half of the 
kingdom." 

"My wish," answered the queen, "is that the king and 
Haman shall come again to a dinner with me to-morrow." 

Haman walked out of the palace that day happy at the honor 
that had come to him, but when he saw Mordecai sitting by the 
gate, and not rising up to bow before him, all his gladness passed 
away, and he was angry in his heart. When he came to his 
own house he told his wife Zeresh, and his' friends, how the king and 
the queen had honored him, and then he said, "But all this is as 
nothing to. me when I see that man, Mordecai the Jew, sitting at 
the king's gate." 

But his wife said to him, "That is nothing. Before you go to 
the feast to-morrow, have a gallows made, and then ask the king 
to command that Mordecai be hanged upon it. The king will do 
whatever you wish, and then, when you have sent Mordecai to 
death, you can be happy at your feast with the king and the queen." 

This was very pleasing to Haman; and on that very day he 
caused the gallows to be set up, ready for hanging Mordecai on the 
next day. 

It so happened that on that night the king could not sleep. 
He told them to read in the book of records of the kingdom, hoping 
that the reading might put him to sleep. They read in the book 
how Mordecai had told of the two men who had sought to murder 
the king. The king stopped the reading, and said, "What reward 
has been given to Mordecai for saving the life of the king from these 
men?" 

"O king," they answered, "nothing has been done for Morde- 
cai." 

Then said the king, " Is any one of the princes standing outside 
in the court?" 

"Yes, king," was answered; "the noble Haman is in the 
court." 

Haman had come in at that very moment to ask the king that 
Mordecai might be put to death. The king sent word to Haman 



Haman Honors Mordecai 



489 



to come in, and as soon as he entered said to him, "What shall be 
done to any man whom the king wishes especially to honor? " 

Now Haman thought within himself, " There is no man whom 
the king will wish to honor more than myself. ' ' Then he said, " The 
man whom the king wishes especially to honor, let him be dressed 
in the garments of the king, and let him sit on the horse that the 
king rides upon, and let the royal crown be set upon his head ; let 
him ride through the main street of the city, and let one of the 




HAMAN BEGS FOR HIS LIFE FR( 



nobles call out before him, ' This is the man whom the king delights 
to honor.' " 

Then the king said to Haman, " Make haste, and do all this that 
you have said to Mordecai the Jew, who sits in the king's gate. See 
that nothing is left out of what you have spoken." 

Haman was astonished, and was cut to the heart, but he did 
not dare to speak as he felt. He obeyed the king's command, sent 
for the king's horse, his robes, and his crown ; dressed Mordecai like 
a king, mounted him on the horse, and went before him through the 
street of Shushan, calling aloud, "This is the man whom the king 



49o The Beautiful Queen of Persia 

delights to honor! " And after that Haman hid his anger and his 
sorrow of heart, and sat down to the feast in the queen's palace. 
He had not said a word to the king of having Mordecai hanged upon 
the gallows which he had set up the day before. 

King Ahasuerus knew very well that his queen had still some 
favor to ask; and at the feast he said to her, "What do you wish, 
Queen Esther? Tell me, and I will give it to you, even though it 
be half of my kingdom." 

Then Esther saw that her time had come. She saici to the king : 

"If I have found favor in your sight, O king, and if it 
please you, let my life be given me, and the lives of my people. 
For we have been sold, I and all my people, to be destroyed, to 
be slain, and to perish. If only we had been sold as slaves, I 
would have said nothing ; but we are to be slain, in order to please 
our enemy." 

Then said the king, " Who is the man, and where is he, that has 
dared to do this thing?" 

"The enemy," said Queen Esther, "is this wicked Haman!" 

As the king heard this he was so angry that he rose up from 
the table, and walked out into the garden. In a moment he came 
back and saw Haman fallen down upon his face, begging the queen 
to spare his life. The king looked at him in anger, and the servants 
at once covered Hainan's face, as of one doomed to death. One of 
the officers standing near said, "There stands the gallows, seventy- 
five feet high, which Haman set up yesterday for Mordecai to be 
hanged upon it." 

"Hang Haman himself on it," commanded the king. So 
Haman died upon the very gallows that he had made for Mordecai. 

And on that day the king gave Haman 's place to Mordecai, and 
set him over the princes. He gave to Mordecai his own ring, with 
its seal. And all the family of Haman, his sons, were put to death 
for their father's evil-doing, according to the cruel usage of those 
times. 

The law for killing the Jews on the thirteenth day of the 
twelfth month had been made and sent abroad; and no law of the 
Persians could be changed. But though this law could not be 
taken back, another law was made that the Jews could defend 
themselves against any who might try to do them harm. When 
the day came most of their enemies feared to harm the Jews, for 



The Jews in Their Own Land 491 

now they were under the care of the king, and Mordecai, a Jew, 
stood next to the king; and such of their enemies as tried to kill 
them on that day were soon destroyed. 

So everywhere, instead of sorrow and death, on the thirteenth 
day of the twelfth month, the Jews had joy and gladness. And on 
the day following, the fourteenth day of the twelfth month, the 
Jews kept a feast of thanksgiving to God for his mercy in saving 
them from their enemies. The same feast was kept on that day 
every year afterward, and it is still kept among the Jews in all lands, 
and is called the feast of Purim. On that feast the story of Esther, 
the beautiful queen, is read by all the Jewish people. 



Story Sixteen. 



THE SCRIBE WHO WROTE THE OLD 
TESTAMENT. 

Ezra vii : 1, to x : 44. 




ROM the court of the great king at Shushan we turn once 
more to the Jews at Jerusalem and in Judea. For a 
long time after the first company came to the land, 
under Zerubbabel (see Story Thirteen in this Part) very 
few Jews from other countries joined them. The Jews 
in Judea were poor, and discouraged. Many of them had borrowed 
money which they could not pay, and had been sold as slaves to 
richer Jews. Around them on every side were their enemies, the 
idol-worshipping people in the land, and the Samaritans on the 
north. These enemies robbed them of their crops in the field, and 
they also constantly sent evil and false reports of them to the Per- 
sian governors. Many of the men of Israel had married women of 



492 The Scribe Who Wrote the Old Testament 

the land not of the Israelite' race, and their children were growing 
up half heathen and half Jewish, unable to talk in the language of 
their fathers, and knowing nothing of the true God. 

Ninety years after the Jews had come back to the land Jeru- 
salem was a small town, with many of its old houses still in ruins, and 
no wall around it. In those times no city could be safe from its 
enemies without a wall; so that Jerusalem lay helpless against 
bands of robbers who came up from the desert and carried away 
nearly all that the people could earn. 

Just' at the time when the land was in the deepest need God 
raised up two men to help his people. These two men were Ezra 
and Nehemiah. Through Ezra the people of Judah were led back 
to their God, to worship him, to serve him, and especially to love 
God's book as they never had loved it before. And about the same 
time Nehemiah gave new hope, and courage, and strength to the 
people by helping them to build a wall around Jerusalem. The 
work of these tivo men brought to Judea peace and plenty, and led 
many Jews from other lands to their OAvn country. 

Ezra was a priest, living in the city of Babylon, though he had 
sprung from the family of Aaron, the first priest. He was also a 
prophet, through whom God spoke to his people. But above all, 
Ezra was a lover of God's book in a time when the book of the Lord 
was almost forgotten. Nearly all the books of what we call the 
Old Testament had been written for a long time ; but in those days 
there were no printed books ; each copy was written separately with 
a pen; and as the labor was great, there were very few copies of 
the different books of the Bible. And these copies were in different 
places ; one book of the Bible was in one place, another book was 
in another place. N one man in those times before Ezra had ever 
owned or had ever seen the whole of the Old Testament in one book 
or set of books. 

Ezra began to seek everywhere among the Jews for copies of 
these different books. Whenever he found one he wrote it out, and 
kept the copy, and also led other men to copy the books as they 
found them. At last Ezra had copies written of all the books in 
the Old Testament except the very latest books. They were 
written very nearly as we have them now, except that his copies 
were all in Hebrew, the language spoken by the men who wrote 
most of the Old Testament. 



Ezra's Journey to Jerusalem 493 

Ezra put all these different books together, making one book 
out of many books. This great book was written on parchment, or 
sheepskin, in long rolls, as in old time all books were written. When 
the book was finished it was called " The Book of the Law," because 
it contained God's law for his people, as given through Moses, and; 
Samuel, and David, and Isaiah, and all the other prophets. 

When Ezra had finished writing this book of the law, he went 
on a long journey from Babylon to Judea, taking with him the 
rolls of the book. With Ezra went a company of men whom he 
had taught to love the law, to write copies of it, to read it, and to 
teach it to others. These men, who gave their lives to studying, 
and copying, and teaching the law, were called " scribes," a word 
which means "writers." 

Ezra was the first and the greatest of these scribes ; but from 
his time there were many scribes among the Jews, both in Judea and 
in all other lands. For wherever the Jews lived they began to read 
the Bible and to love it. The time came, soon after Ezra's day, 
when in every place where the Jews met to worship at least one copy 
of all the books in the Old Testament was kept ; so that there was 
no more danger that the Bible, or any part of it, would be lost. 

You remember that there was only one Temple for all the Jews 
in the world, and only one altar. Upon this one altar, and there 
alone, was offered the sacrifice every day. But the Jews in distant 
places needed to meet together for worship, and there grew up 
among the Jews everywhere what was called "the Synagogue," a 
word which means " coming together. ' ' At first they met in a room, 
but afterward they built houses for the synagogues much like our 
churches. Some of these synagogues were large and beautiful, and 
in them the people met every week to worship God, to sing the 
psalms, to hear the law and the prophets read, and to talk together 
about what they had heard. It was something like a prayer-meet- . 
ing, for any Jew who wished to speak in the meeting could do so. 
The men sat on mats laid on the floor ; the rulers of the synagogue 
were on seats raised up above the rest ; the women were in a gallery 
on one side, covered with a lattice-work, so that they could see and 
hear, but could not be seen. And on the end of the room nearest 
to Jerusalem there was a large box or chest, called u the ark," within 
which were kept the copies of the books of the Old Testament. 
Thus through the synagogue all the Jews in the world listened to 



494 The Scribe Who Wrote the Old Testament 

the reading of the Old Testament until very many of them knew 
every word of it by heart. All this came to pass from Ezra's work 
in copying and teaching the word of the Lord. 

And Ezra wrought another work almost as great as that of 
giving the Bible to the world. He taught the Jewish people, first 
in Israel, and then in other lands, that they were the people of God, 
and that they must live apart from other nations. If they had gone 
on marrying women of other races, who worshipped other gods, after 
a time there would have been no Jews, and no worshippers of God. 
Ezra made some of them give up their wives of other nations, and 
he taught the Jews to be a people by themselves, keeping away from 
those who worshipped idols, even though they lived among them. 
Thus Ezra led the Jews to look upon themselves as a holy 
people, given up to the service of God : and he taught them to live 
apart from other nations, with their own customs and ways of 
living, and very exact in obeying the law of God in the books given 
by Moses, even in some things that would seem small and not 
important. They were to be trained age after age in the service 
and worship of God. It was God's will that the Jews should be 
separate from other peoples, and very strict in keeping their law, 
until the time should come for them to go out and preach the 
gospel to all the world. But that was long after Ezra's day. 

The Jews even now in our time continue to keep many of the 
rules that were given to their fathers long ago by Ezra ; so next to 
Moses, Ezra had greater power over the Jews than any other 
prophet or teacher. 



Story Seventeen. 



! HE NOBLEMAN WHO BUILT THE WALL 
OF JERUSALEM. 

Nehemiah i : i, to vii : 73. 




HILE the good scribe Ezra was at work finding the 
books of the Bible, and copying them, and teaching 
them, another great man was helping God's people in 
another way. This man was Nehemiah. He was a 
nobleman of high rank at the court of the great King 
Artaxerxes. Artaxerxes reigned after Ahasuerus, of whom we read 
in the story of the beautiful Queen Esther (Story Fifteen) . 

Nehemiah was "the cup-bearer" to the king of Persia at 
Shushan. It was his office to take charge of all the wine that was 
used at the king's table, to pour it out and hand the cup to the king. 
This was an important office, for he saw the king every day at his 
meals, and could speak with him, as very few of even the highest 
princes could speak. Then, too, the life of the king was in his 
hands, for if he were an enemy he could have allowed poison to be 
put into the wine to kill the king. So the cup-bearer was always a 
man whom the king could trust as his friend. 

Nehemiah was a Jew, and, like all the Jews, felt a great love 
for Jerusalem. At one time a Jew named Hanani, and certain of 
his friends who had come from Jerusalem, visited Nehemiah. Nehe- 
miah asked them, "How are the Jews in Jerusalem doing? How 
does the city look?" 

And they answered, "The people who are living in the land of 
Judea are very poor, and are looked down upon by all around them. 
The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been 
burned with fire." 

When Nehemiah heard this he was filled with sorrow for his 
city and his people. After the Jews left him he sat down for days, 
and would eat nothing He fasted, and wept, and prayed. He 

(495) 



496 Nobleman who Built the Wall of Jerusalem 

said, " O Lord God of heaven, the great God, who keeps his promises 
to those who love him and do his will; hear, O Lord, my prayer for 
the people of Israel, thy servants. We have done very wickedly, 
O Lord, and because of our sins thou hast scattered us among 
the nations. Now, O Lord, give me grace this day in the sight 
of this man, the king of Persia, and may the king help me to do 
good and to help my people in the land of Israel." 

A few days after this Nehemiah was standing beside the king's 
table, while the king and queen were seated at their meal. As he 
poured out the wine the king saw that his face was sad, Avhich was 
not usual, for Nehemiah was of cheerful spirit, and generally showed 
a happy face. The king said to him, " Nehemiah, why do you look 
so sad? You do not seem to be sick. I am sure that there is some- 
thing that gives you trouble. What is it? Tell me." 

Then .Nehemiah was afraid that the king might be displeased 
with him, but he said, " Let the king live for ever ! Why should not 
my face be sad, when the city where my fathers are buried lies 
waste, with its walls broken down, and its gates burned with fire?" 

The king said, " Do you wish to ask of me any favor? Tell me 
what I can do to help you." 

Then Nehemiah lifted up a silent prayer to God, and said, " May 
it please the king, I would be glad if you would send me to Jerusa- 
lem, in the land of Judah, with an order to build the walls." 

The king said, " How long will the journey be? And when will 
you come back?" 

Nehemiah fixed upon a time, and told the king how long it 
would be, and he asked also that he might have letters to the men 
who ruled the different provinces through which he would pass, for 
them to give him a safe journey; and also a letter to the keeper 
of the king's forest, to give him wood for the beams of a house which 
he wished to build, and for repairing the Temple, and for building 
the wall. The king was kind to Nehemiah, and he gave him all 
that he asked. 

Nehemiah, with a company of horsemen and many friends, 
made the long journey of almost a thousand miles to Jerusalem. 
All the people were glad to have a visit from a man of such high rank, 
and the whole city rejoiced at his coming. But Nehemiah was dis- 
tressed as he saw how poor and mean and helpless the city lay. 

One night, without telling any of the men in the city his 



Nehemiah Looks at the City 



49: 



purpose, he rose up with a few of his friends, and by the light of the 
moon rode on his horse around the city. There he saw in how 
many places the walls were mere heaps of ruins, and gates were 
broken down and burned. He found great heaps of ashes, and 
piles of stone, so that in some places his horse could not walk ovei 




them. The next 
day he called to- 
gether the rulers of 
the city and the 
chief priests, and 
he said to them, 
"You see how poor 
and helpless this 
city lies, without 
walls, or gates, and open to all its enemies. Come, let us build 
the wall [of Jerusalem, so that no longer other people may look 
upon us with contempt." Then he told them how God had heard 
his prayer, and had made the king friendly, and had sent gifts to 
help them. Then the people and the rulers said, "Let us rise up 

1* 



NEHEMIAH THE CUP-BEARER BEFORE THE KING 
AND QUEEN. 



498 Nobleman who Built the Wall of Jerusalem 

and build the wall!" So at once they began the work. Each 
family in Jerusalem agreed to build a part of the wall. The high- 
priest said that he would build one of the gates, and the wall 
beside it to a certain tower. Some of the rich men built a long 
space, and others did very little, and some would do nothing. One 
man built just as much of the wall as would stand in front of his 
house, and no more, and another man only as much as fronted 
upon his own room. One man and his daughters hired workers to 
build ; the goldsmiths built some, and so did the apothecaries, the 
men who sold medicines ; and the merchants built a part. Almost 
all the men of the city, and some of the women, took part in the 
building, for the people had a mind to work. 

Soon the news went abroad through Judea and the lands around, 
that the walls of Jerusalem were rising from their ruins. There 
were many who were far from pleased as they heard this, for they 
hated the Jews and their God, and they did not wish to see Jerusa- 
lem strong, as it had been of old. The leader of these enemies was 
a man named Sanballat, who came from Samaria, where all the 
people were jealous of the Jews. 

"What are these feeble Jews doing?" said Sanballat. "Do 
they intend to make their city strong? Will they pile up stones 
out of the rubbish of the burned city? " 

And his servant Tobiah was with him, saying, "Why, if a fox 
should go up, he could break down their little wall!" 

The Arabians from the desert, and the Philistines from Ashdod 
on the plain, and the Ammonites from the east of Jordan, saw that 
if the wall should be built they could no more rob and plunder the 
city. They tried to form an army to come against the city and stop 
building. But Nehemiah prayed to God for help, and he chose 
watchmen who should go around the wall, and look out for the 
coming of the enemies. Half of Nehemiah's men worked on the 
wall, and the other half held the bows, and spears, and armor of the 
workers. And in some places a man would hold a spear in one 
hand while he spread mortar with the other. At other places men 
worked with their swords hanging at one side, ready for the fight 
any moment. 

Nehemiah rode on his horse around the wall, and his servant 
walked beside him with a trumpet. He said, "The work is large, 
and you are apart from each other. Whenever you hear the sound 



The Wall Finished 499 

of the trumpet, leave your work, take your arms, and go to the 
place where it sounds ; and there the Lord will fight for us/' 

But their enemies were not strong enough to fight the Jews ; so 
Sanballat, and Tobiah, and another of their leaders named Geshem, 
sent a letter to Nehemiah, saying, " Come and meet us in one of the 
villages on the plain near the Great Sea, and let us talk over this 
matter. ' ' 

Now Nehemiah knew that to go to this place and then come 
back again to Jerusalem would take more than a week ; and he sent 
answer thus, "I am doing a great work, and I cannot come down; 
why should the work stop, while I leave it, to come down and talk 
with you?" 

Over and over again they sent for Nehemiah, but he refused 
to come. Finally, Sanballat sent a letter, with this message : 

"It is told among all the people, and Geshem says it is a fact, 
that you are building this city to rebel against the king of Persia, 
and to set up a kingdom of your own. Come now, and let us talk 
with you, or trouble may come to you." 

Nehemiah wrote back, ' ' You know very well that there is no 
truth in all these stories. You have made them up yourselves." 

Some of the Jews in the city were friendly to these enemies 
outside, and these men tried to frighten Nehemiah. One of them 
made believe that he was a prophet, and said to Nehemiah, "Go 
into the Temple and hide, for in the night your enemies will come 
to kill you!" 

" Should such a man as I am run away and hide himself? " said 
Nehemiah. "No; I will not go." 

So earnestly did the men of Judah work that in fifty-two days 
after the work was begun it was finished, and the gates were hung, 
and guards were placed within, so that no enemies might enter. 
Thus Jerusalem began to rise from its weakness and helplessness, 
and once more to be a strong city. 



Story (Eighteen. 



EZRA'S GREAT BIBLE CLASS IN 
IERUSALEM. 

Nehemiah viii : i, to xiii : 31 ; Malachi i : 1, to iv : 6. 




,HEN the wall of Jerusalem was finished, Nehemiah 
called together all the Jews from the villages and 
cities in the land to meet in Jerusalem. They met, a 
great company with their wives and children, in an 
open place before the Temple. Ezra, the good priest 
and scribe, who had wrought so great a work in bringing together 
and writing the books of the Old Testament (see Story Sixteen), 
was in the city at that time. They asked Ezra to bring the book, 
and to read the law of the Lord to the people. 

He came, carrying with him the great rolls upon which the law 
was written, and stood up on a pulpit which they had built, where 
all the people could see him; and with Ezra were men whom he 
had taught in the law, so that they could teach it to others. 

When Ezra stood up in the pulpit, above the heads of the 
people, and unrolled the scroll, all the people, who had been sitting 
upon the ground, rose up, while Ezra gave thanks to the Lord, who 
had given to them his law. Then the people said "Amen!" with 
a loud, voice, and they bowed until their heads touched the ground, 
and worshipped. 

Then Ezra began to read in the book, aloud, so that as many 
as possible could hear. But as the people did not all understand 
the old Hebrew tongue in which the book was written, men were 
chosen to stand by Ezra ; and as he read each sentence, these men 
explained it to the people, while all the people stood listening. So, 
as Ezra read, these men told its meaning, so that the people could 
understand the word of the Lord. 

Many of the people had never heard God's law read before, and 
they wept as they listened to it. But Nehemiah, who was there as 

(50°) 



The People Promise to Keep the Law 501 

the ruler, said to them, " This day is holy to the Lord ; do not mourn 
nor weep, but rather be glad, and eat and drink, and send gifts of 
food to those who are in need, for you are strong in the Lord, and 
should be joyful." 

And the Levites quieted the people, saying, " Hold your peace, 
for the day is holy. Do not weep, but be glad in the Lord." 

And all the people went home to feast and to be glad, because 
they could hear and understand the words of God's law. 

After this another great meeting was held, and the people con- 




EZRAS GREAT BIBLE CLASS. 



fessed their sins before God, and the sins of their fathers in forsaking 
God's law, and in not doing his will. And all the people made a 
solemn promise that they would keep God's law, and would do his 
will; that they would be God's people, and no more give their sons 
to marry women who did not worship the Lord ; that they would 
keep holy God's day, the Sabbath; and they would give to the 
Lord's house for all the offerings. And they wrote the promise on 
a roll, and all the princes and rulers and priests signed it, and placed 
their seals upon it. 



502 Ezra's Great Bible Class in Jerusalem 

Nehemiah had now finished the work for which he had made 
the long journey to Jerusalem. He went back to Shushan, and 
stood once more in his place, pouring the wine at the king's table. 
But after some years he came again to Jerusalem. He found that 
not all the people had fulfilled their promises to serve the Lord, and 
especially, that the Sabbath-day was not kept as it should be. 
People were treading wine-presses, and bringing into the city loads 
of grain, and selling wine, and grapes and figs, on the Sabbath-day. 
And men from the city of Tyre, beside the Great Sea, who were not 
worshippers of the Lord, brought in fish, and sold them on the Sab- 
bath. When Nehemiah saw all these evils, he was greatly dis- 
pleased, and said to the rulers of the city, " Why do you allow these 
evil things to be done, and the Sabbath-day to be broken? Were 
not these the very things that made God angry with our fathers, so 
that he let this city be destroyed? Will you bring God's anger upon 
us again by doing such things on God's holy day? " 

Then Nehemiah gave orders that before the sun set on the 
evening before the Sabbath the gates of the city should be shut, and 
not opened until the morning after the Sabbath was over. The 
men came with their things to be sold, and waited outside for the 
gates to be opened. Nehemiah looked over the wall, and saw them, 
and said to them, "What are you doing here? If you come here 
again on the Sabbath, I will put you in prison!" 

Then they went away, and came no more upon the holy day. 
By such strong acts as these Nehemiah led the people to a more faith- 
ful service of the Lord. And after this Jerusalem grew large and 
strong, and was full of people. And Jews from other lands began 
to come to live in the land, until it was once more filled with cities 
and towns ; and the hills over all the land were covered with vine- 
yards and oliveyards, and the plains were waving with fields of grain. 

A little after the time of Ezra and Nehemiah, Malachi arose as 
the last of the prophets of the Old Testament. 

"Thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will send my messenger, and 
he shall prepare the way before me. And the Lord shall suddenly 
come to his Temple ; behold, he cometh, saith the Lord. Behold, I 
will send you Elijah, the prophet, before the great day of the Lord 
shall come. And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the chil- 
dren, and the heart of the children to their fathers. 

And with these words the Old Testament ends. 



Part Sixty 



£fye €ife anb {LtacfynQs of 3esns 



Story ©rte. 



THE ANGEL BY THE ALTAR. 

Luke i : i to 80. 




JT the time when the story of the New Testament 
began, the land of Israel, called also the land of 
Judea, was ruled by a king named Herod. He was 
the first of several Herods, who at different times 
ruled either the whole of the land, or parts of it. 
But Herod was not the highest ruler. Many years before this time, 
the Romans, who came from the city of Rome in Italy, had won 
all the lands around the Great Sea, the sea which we call the Medi- 
terranean ; and above King Herod of Judea was the great king at 
Rome, who was called " Emperor," ruling over all the lands, and 
over the land of Judea among them. So Herod, though king of 
Judea, obeyed his over-lord, the emperor at Rome. At the time 
when this story began, the emperor at Rome was named Augustus 
Caesar. 

At this time the land where the Jews lived was full of people. 
Jerusalem was its largest city, and in Jerusalem was standing the 
Temple of the Lord, which King Herod had begun to build anew, 
taking the place of the old Temple built in the time of Zerubbabel 
(see Story Fourteen in fart Fifth) , which had long needed repair. 
There were also many other large cities besides Jerusalem. In the 
south was Hebron, among the mountains ; on the shore of the Great 
Sea were Gaza, and Joppa, and Caesarea. In the middle of the 
land were Shechem and Samaria ; and in the north were Nazareth 
and Cana; down by the shore of the Sea of Galilee were Tiberias, 
and Capernaum, and Bethsaida. Far up in the north, at the foot 
of snowy Mount Hebron, was another Caesarea; but so that it 
might not be confused with Caesarea upon the sea-coast, this city 

(50s) 



506 The Angel by the Altar 

was called Caesarea-philippi, or "Philip's Caesarea," from the name 
of one of Herod's sons. 

One day, an old priest named Zacharias was leading the service 
of worship in the Temple. He was standing in front of the golden 
altar of incense, in the Holy Place, and was holding in his hand a 
censer or cup full of burning coals and incense ; while all the people 
were worshipping in the court of the Temple, outside the court of 
the priests, where the great altar of burnt-offering stood (see Stories 
Twenty-seven and Twenty-eight in Part First) . 

Suddenly Zacharias saw an angel from the Lord, standing on 
the right side of the altar of incense. He felt a great fear when he 
saw this strange being, with shining face ; but the angel said to him : 

"Do not be afraid, Zacharias; for I have come from the Lord 
to bring you good news. Your wife Elizabeth shall have a son, and 
you shall name him John. You shall be made glad, for your son 
John shall bring joy and gladness to many. He shall be great in 
the sight of the Lord ; and he shall never taste wine nor strong drink 
as long as he lives; but he shall be filled with God's Holy Spirit. 
He shall lead many of the people of Israel to the Lord, for he shall 
go before the Lord in the power of Elijah the prophet, as was 
promised by Malachi, the last of the old prophets (see the last Story). 
He shall turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and those 
who are disobeying the Lord to do his will." 

As Zacharias heard these words, he was filled with wonder, and 
could hardly believe them true. He was now an old man, and his 
wife Elizabeth was also old ; so that they could not expect to have a 
child. He said to the angel: 

" How shall I know that your words are true, for I am an old 
man, and my wife is old?" 

"I am Gabriel, that stand in the presence of God," said the 
angel, " and I was sent from the Lord to speak to you, and to bring 
you this good news. But because you did not believe my words, 
you shall become dumb, and shall not be able to speak until this 
which I have said comes to pass." 

All this time, the people outside, in the court, were wondering 
why the priest stayed so long in the Temple. When at last he came 
out, they found that he could not speak a word ; but he made signs 
to them, to tell them that he had seen a vision in the Temple. 

After the days of his service were over, Zacharias went to his 



The Angel Sent to Nazareth 



507 



own home, which was near Hebron, a city of the priests, among the 
mountains in the south of Judea. When his wife Elizabeth found 
that God was soon to give her a child, she was very happy, and 




ELIZABETH GREETS MARY. 



praised the Lord. About six months after Zacharias saw the vision 
in the Temple, the same angel Gabriel was sent from the Lord to a 
city in the part of the land called Galilee, which was in the north. 
The city to wnich the angel was sent was Nazareth. There the 



508 The Angel by the Altar 

angel found a young girl named Mary, who was a cousin to Eliza- 
beth. Mary was soon to be married to a good man who had sprung 
from the line of King David, though he was not himself a king, or 
a rich man. He was a carpenter or wood-worker, living in Naza- 
reth, and his name was Joseph. The angel came into the room 
where Mary was, and said to her : 

"Hail, woman favored by the Lord; the Lord is with you!" 

Mary was surprised at the angel's words, and wondered what 
they could mean. Then the angel spoke again, and said : 

" Do not be afraid, Mary. The Lord has given to you his favor, 
and has chosen you to be the mother of a son whose name shall be 
Jesus, which means ''salvation," because he shall save his people 
from their sins. He shall be great ; and shall be called the Son of 
God; and the Lord shall give to him the throne of his father David. 
He shall be a king ; and shall reign over the people of God forever, 
and of his kingdom there shall be no end. ' ' 

But Mary could not see how all this was to come to pass. And 
the angel said to her: 

"The Holy Spirit shall come upon you, and the power of the 
Most High God shall be over you; and the holy child which you 
shall have shall be called the Son of God." 

Then the angel told Mary that her cousin Elizabeth was soon 
to have a child, through the power of the Lord. And when Mary 
heard all this she said, "I am the servant of the Lord, to do his 
will. Let it be to me as you have said." 

When the angel had given his message and had gone away, 
Mary rose up in haste, and made a journey to the home of Zach arias 
and Elizabeth, eighty miles away in the south country. When 
Elizabeth saw Mary, she was filled with the Spirit of the Lord, and 
said, " Blessed are you among women, and blessed among men shall 
be your son ! And why is it that the mother of my Lord comes to 
visit me? Blessed is the woman who believed that the promise of 
the Lord to her shall be made true ! ' ' 

Then Mary was filled with the Spirit of the Lord, and broke 
out into a song of praise. She stayed with Elizabeth for nearly 
three months, and then went again to her own home at Nazareth. 

As the angel had said, to the aged woman Elizabeth was given 
a son. They were going to name him Zacharias, after his father. 
But his mother said, "No, his name shall be John." 




THE ANGEL SPEAKING TO MARY 



The Boy in the Desert 



509 



11 Why," they said, " none of your family have ever been named 
John." 

They asked his father Zacharias, by signs, what name he wished 
to be given to the child. He asked for something to write upon ; and 
when they brought it, he wrote, " His name is John." 

Then all at once the power to hear and to speak came back to 




THE WELL OF THE VIRGIN MARY, AT NAZARETH. 



Zacharias*. He spoke, praising and blessing God; and he sang a 
song of thanks to God, in which he said : 

"You, child, shall be called a prophet of the Most High; to 
go before the Lord, and to make ready his ways." 

When John was growing up, they sent him out into the desert 
on the south of the land, and there he stayed until the time come 
for him to preach to the people, for this child became the great 
prophet John the Baptist. 



5toru Ctr>e. 



THE MANGER OF BETHLEHEM. 

Matthew i : 18 to 25 ; Luke ii : 1 to 39. 




00N after the time when John the Baptist was born, 
Joseph, the carpenter of Nazareth, the husband of 
Mary, had a dream. In his dream he saw an angel 
from the Lord standing beside him. The angel said 
to him: 

"Joseph, I have come to tell you, that Mary, the young woman 
whom you are to marry, will have a son, sent by the Lord God. 
You shall call his name Jesus, which means 'salvation,' because 
he shall save his people from their sins." 

Joseph knew from this that this coming child was to be the 
King of Israel, of whom the prophets of the Old Testament had 
spoken so many times. 

Soon after Joseph and Mary were married in Nazareth, a com- 
mand went forth from the emperor, Augustus Cassar, through all 
the lands of the Roman empire, for all the people to go to the cities 
and towns from which their families had come, and there to have 
their names written down upon a list, for the emperor wished a list 
to be made of all the people under his rule. As both Joseph and 
Mary had come from the family of David the king, they went 
together from Nazareth to Bethlehem, there to have their names 
written upon the list. For you remember that Bethlehem in Judea, 
six miles south of Jerusalem, was the place where David was born, 
and where his father's family had lived for many years (see Story 
Four in Part Third). 

It was a long journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem; down the 
mountains to the river Jordan, then following the Jordan almost to 
its end, and then climbing the mountains of Judah to the town of 
Bethlehem. When Joseph and Mary came to Bethlehem they 
found the city full of people who, like themselves, had come to have 
their names enrolled or written upon the list. The inn or hotel was 



Jesus is Born in Bethlehem 



511 



full, and there was no room for them; for no one but themselves 
knew that this young woman was soon to be the mother of the Lord 
of all the earth. The best that they could do was to go to a stable, 
where the cattle were kept. There the little baby was born, and 
was laid in a manger, where the cattle were fed. 

On that night some shepherds were tending their sheep in a 
field near Bethlehem. Suddenly a great light shone upon them, and 
they saw an angel of the Lord standing before them. They were 




JESUS IN THE MANGER, WITH ANGELS LOOKING ON. 



filled with fear, as they saw how glorious the angel was. But the 
angel said to them: 

"Be not afraid; for behold I bring you news of great joy, 
which shall be to all the people ; for there is born to you this day 
in Bethlehem, the city of David, a Saviour who is Christ the 
Lord, the anointed king. You may see him there; and may 
know him by this sign : He is a new-born baby, lying in a manger 
at the inn." 

And then they saw that the air around and the sky above them 
were filled with angels, praising God and singing : 



512 The Manger of Bethlehem 

" Glory to God in the highest. And on earth peace among men 
in whom God is well pleased." 

While they looked with wonder, and listened the angels went 
out of sight as suddenly as they had come. Then the shepherds said, 
one to another : 

" Let us go at once to Bethlehem, and see this wonderful thing 
that has come to pass, and which the Lord has made known to us." 

Then as quickly as they could go to Bethlehem, they went, and 
found Joseph, the carpenter of Nazareth, and his young wife Mary, 
and the little baby lying in the manger. They told Mary and 
Joseph and others also, how they had seen the angels, and what 
they had heard about this baby. All who heard their story won- 
dered at it; but Mary, the mother of the child, said nothing. She 
thought over all these things, and silently kept them in her heart. 
After their visit, the shepherds went back to their flocks, praising 
God for the good news that he had sent to them. 

When the little one was eight days old they gave him a name; 
and the name given was " Jesus, " a word which means " salvation ; " 
as the angel had told both Mary and Joseph that he should be 
named. So the very name of this child told what he should do for 
men ; for he was to bring salvation to the world. 

It was the law among the Jews that after the first child was 
born in a family, he should be brought to the Temple; and there 
an offering should be made for him to the Lord, to show that this 
child was the Lord's. A rich man would offer a lamb, but a poor 
man might give a pair of young pigeons, for the sacrifice. On the 
day when Jesus was forty days old, Joseph and Mary brought him 
to the Temple; and as Joseph the carpenter was not a rich man, 
they gave for the child as an offering a pair of young pigeons. 

At that time there was living in Jerusalem a man of God named 
Simeon. The Lord had spoken to Simeon, and had said to him that 
he should not die until the Anointed King should come, whom they 
called "the Christ," for the word Christ means "anointed." On a 
certain day the Spirit of the Lord told Simeon to go to the Temple. 
He went, and was there when Joseph and Mary brought the little 
child Jesus. The Spirit of the Lord said to Simeon : 

"This little one is the promised Christ." 

Then Simeon took the baby in his arms and praised the Lord, 
and said: 



Simeon Sees Jesus 



Sis 



" Now, O Lord, thou mayest let thy servant depart, 
According to thy word, in peace. 
For my eyes have seen thy salvation, 
Which thou hast given before all the peoples, 
A light to give light to the nations, 
And the glory of tfiy people Israel," 

When Joseph and Mary heard this, they wondered greatly. 

Simeon gave to 
them a blessing in 



■•■/* 





THE BABY JESUS BROUGHT TO THE TEMPLE 



the name of the Lord; and he said to Mary, "This little one shall 
cause many in Israel to fall, and to rise again. Many shall speak 
against him; and sorrow like a sword shall pierce your heart also." 

You know how this came to pass afterward, when Mary saw 
her son dying on the cross. 

While Simeon was speaking, a very old woman came in. Hei 

33 



514 The Star and the Wise Men 

name was Anna, and God spoke to her as to a prophet. She stayed 
almost all the time in the Temple, worshipping God day and night. 
She, too, saw, through the Spirit of the Lord, that this little child 
was Christ the Lord, and gave thanks to God for his grace. 

Thus early in the life of Jesus God showed to a few that this 
little child should become the Saviour of his people and of the world. 



Story Cfyree, 



THE STAR AND THE WISE MEN, 

Matthew ii : i to 23. 




[OR some time after Jesus was born, Joseph and Mary 
stayed with him in Bethlehem. The little baby was 
not kept long in the stable, sleeping in the manger ; for 
after a few days they found room in a house ; and there 
another visit was made to Jesus by strange men from 
a land far away 

In a country east of Judea, and many miles distant, were living 
some very wise men, who studied the stars. One night they saw a 
strange star shining in the sky ; and in some way they learned that 
the coming of this star meant that a king was soon to be born in the 
,land of Judea. These men felt a call of God to go to Judea, far to 
the west of their own home, and there to see this new-born king. 
They took a long journey, with camels and horses, and at last they 
came to the land of Judea, just at the time when Jesus was born at 
Bethlehem. As soon as they were in Judea they supposed that 
every one would know all about the king ; and they said : 

"Where is he that is born the King of the Jews? In the east 
we have seen his star; and we have come to worship him." 

But no one of whom they asked had ever seen this king or had 



The Strangers From Afar 



515 



heard of him. The news of their coming was sent to Herod, the 
king, who was now a very old man. He ruled the land of Judea, 
as you know, under the emperor at Rome, Augustus Caesar. (See 
Story One of this Part.) Herod was a very wicked man ; and when 
he heard of some one born to be a king he 
feared that he might lose his own kingdom. 
He made up his mind to kill this new king, 
and thus to 



keep his 
power, 
sent for 
priests 
scribes, 



own 

He 

the 

and 

the 




men who stud- 
ied and taught 
the books of 
the Old Testa- 
m en t , and 
asked them 
about this 
Christ for 
whom all the 
people were 
looking. He 
said, "Can you 
tell me where 
Christ, the 
King of Israel, 
is to be born?" 
They looked at 
the books of 
the prophets, 
and then they 
said, "He is to 
be born in 

Bethlehem of Judea ; for thus it is written by the prophet, 'And 
thou, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, art not the least among the 
princes of Judah ; for out of thee shall come forth one who shall 
rule my people Israel.' " 



STRANGE MEN FROM FAR AWAY COME TO SEE THE 
NEWLY-BORN KING. 



5i6 The Star and the Wise Men 

Then Herod sent for the wise men from the east, and met them 
axone, and found from them at what time the star was first seen. 
Then he said to them: 

"Go to Bethlehem, and there search carefully for the little 
child ; and when you have found him bring me word again, so that 
I also may come and worship him." 

Then the wise men went on their way toward Bethlehem, and 
suddenly they saw the star again shining upon the road before them. 
At this they were glad, and followed the star until it led them to 
the very house where the little child was. They came in, and there 
they saw the little one, with Mary, its mother. They knew at once 
that this was the King, and they fell down on their faces and wor- 
shipped him as the Lord. Then they brought out gifts of gold and 
precious perfumes, frankincense and myrrh, which were used in 
offering sacrifices, and they gave them as presents to the royal child. 

That night God sent a dream to the wise men, telling them not 
to go back to Herod, but to go home at once to their own land by 
another way. They obeyed the Lord, and found another road to 
their own country without passing through Jerusalem, where Herod 
was living. So Herod could not learn from these men who the child 
was that was born to be a king. 

And very soon after these wise men had gone away the Lord 
sent another dream to Joseph, the husband of Mary. He saw an 
angel, who spoke to him, saying: 

"Rise up quickly; take the little child and his mother, and go 
down to the land of Egypt ; for Herod will try to find the little child, 
to kill him." 

Then, at once, Joseph rose up in the night, without waiting even 
for the morning. He took his wife and her baby, and quietly and 
quickly went with them down to Egypt, which was on the southwest 
of Judea. There they all stayed in safety as long as the wicked 
King Herod lived, which was not many months. 

King Herod waited for the wise men to come back to him from 
their visit to Bethlehem ; but he soon found that they had gone to 
their home without bringing to him any word. Then Herod was 
very angry. He sent out his soldiers to Bethlehem. They came, 
and by the cruel king's command they seized all the little children 
in Bethlehem who were three years old, or younger, and killed them 
all. What a cry went up to God from the mothers of Bethlehem 



The Child Taken to Nazareth 



517 



as their children were torn from their arms and slain ! But all this 
time the child Jesus, whom they were seeking, was safe with his 
mother in the land of Egypt. 

Soon after this King Herod died, a very old man, cruel to the 
ilast. Then the angel of the Lord came again and spoke to Joseph 
in a dream, saying: 

" You may now take the young child back to his own land, for 
the king who sought to kill him is dead." 




rHE FLIGHT INTO EGYPT. 



Then Joseph took his wife and the little child Jesus, and 
started -to go again to the land of Judea. Perhaps it was his thought 
to go again to Bethlehem, the city of David, and there bring up the 
child, But he heard that in that part of the land Archelaus was 
now ruling, who was a son of Herod, and as wicked and cruel as his 
father. He feared to go under his rule, and instead took his wife 
and the child to Nazareth, which had been his own home and that 
of Mary his wife, before the child was born. Nazareth was in the 



5 l8 The Boy in His Father's House 

part of the land called Galilee, which at that time was ruled by 
another son of King Herod, a king named Herod Antipas. He was 
not a good man, but was not so cruel nor bloody as his wicked father 
had been. 

So again Joseph, the carpenter, and Mary his wife, were living 
in Nazareth. And there they stayed for many years while Jesus 
was growing up. Jesus was not the only child in their house, for 
other sons and daughters were given to them. 



Story £out\ 



THE BOY IN HIS FATHER'S HOUSE 

Luke ii : 40 to 52. 




ESUS was brought to Nazareth when he was a little 
child, not more than three years old; there he grew 
up as a boy and a young man ; and there he lived 
until he was thirty years of age. We should like to 
know many things about his boyhood, but the Bible 
tells us very little. As Joseph was a workingman, it is likely that 
he lived in a house with only one room, with no floor except the 
earth, no window except a hole in the wall, no pictures upon the 
walls, and neither bedstead, nor chair, nor looking-glass. They sat 
upon the floor, or upon cushions ; they slept upon rolls of matting ; 
and their meals were taken from a low table, not much larger than 
a stool. 

Jesus may have learned to read at the village school, which was 
generally held in the house used for worship, called the " synagogue. " 
The lessons were from rolls on which were written parts of the Old 
Testament ; but Jesus never had a Bible of his own. From the 
time when he was a child he went with Joseph to the worship in 



5 2 ° The Boy in His Father's House 



the synagogue twice every week. There they sat on the floor, and 
heard the Old Testament read and explained ; while Mary and the 
younger sisters of Jesus listened from a gallery behind a lattice- 
screen. The Jewish boys of that time were taught to know almost 
the whole of the Old Testament by heart. 

It was the custom for the Jews from all parts of the land to go 
up to Jerusalem to worship at least once every year at the feast of 
the Passover, which was held in the spring. Some families also 
stayed to the feast of Pentecost, which was fifty days after Passover ; 
and some went again in the fall to the feast of Tabernacles, when 
for a week all the families slept out of doors under roofs made of 

green twigs 
and bushes. 
(See Stories 
Twenty -three 
and Twenty- 
eight in Part 
First.) When 
Jesus was a 
boy twelve 
years old he 
was taken up 
to the feast of 
the Passover, 
and then for 
the first time 
he saw the 
holy city Jerusalem and the Temple of the Lord on Mount Moriah. 
Young as he was, his soul was stirred as he walked among the 
courts of the Temple, and saw the altar with its smoking sacrifice, 
the priests in their white robes, and the Levites with their silver 
trumpets. Though a boy, Jesus began to feel that he was the son 
of God, and that this was his Father's house. 

His heart was so filled with the worship of the Temple, with the 
words of the scribes or teachers whom he heard in the courts, and 
with his own thoughts, that when it was time to go home to Naza- 
reth he stayed behind, held fast by his love for the house of the Lord. 
The company of people who were travelling together was large, and 
at first he was not missed. But when night came and the boy Jesus 





JNAZAKii 1H. 



The Boy Found in the Temple 



521 



could not be found, his mother was alarmed. The next day Joseph 
and Mary left their company and hastened back to Jerusalem. They 
did not at first think to go to the Temple. They sought him among 
their friends and kindred who were living in the city, but could not 
find him. 

On the third day they went up to the Temple with heavy hearts, 
still looking for their boy. And there they found him, sitting in a 
company of the teachers of the law, listening to their words and 




JESUS AS A BOY AT THE HOUSE OF HIS FATHER AND MOTHER. 



asking them questions. Everybody who stood near was surprised 
to find how deep was the knowledge of this boy in the word of the 
Lord. 

His mother spoke to him a little sharply, for she felt that her 
son had not been thoughtful of his duty. She said : 

"Child, why have you treated us in this way? Do you not 
know that your father and I have been looking for you with troubled 
hearts?" 

" Why did you seek for me?" said Jesus. " Did you not know 
that I must be in my Father's house? " 



522 The Prophet in the Wilderness 

They did not understand these words, but Mary thought often 
about them afterward, for she felt that her son was no common 
child and that his words had a deep meaning. Though Jesus was 
wise beyond his years, he obeyed Joseph and his mother in all 
things. He went with them to Nazareth, and lived contented with 
the plain life of their country home. 

As the years went on Jesus grew from a boy to a young man. 
He grew, too, in knowledge, and in wisdom, and in the favor of God. 
He won the love of all who knew him, for there was something in 
his nature that drew all hearts, both young and old. 

Jesus learned the trade of a carpenter or worker in wood with 
Joseph ; and when Joseph died, while Jesus was still a young man, 
Jesus, as the oldest son, took up the care of his mother and his 
younger brothers and sisters. And so in the work of the car- 
penter's shop and the quiet life of a country village, and the worship 
of the synagogue, the years passed until Jesus was thirty years of 
age. 



Stovy $it>e 



THE PROPHET IN THE WILDERNESS 

Matthew iii : i to 17 ; Mark i : 1 to 11 ; Luke iii : I to 22. 




,E come now to a time when Jesus, the son of Mary, was 
a young man about thirty years of age. John, the son 
of the old priest Zacharias, was six months older, but 
these two young men had never met, for one was in 
the north at Nazareth, and the other was living in 
the desert on the south of Judea. 

Suddenly the news went through all the land of Israel that a 
prophet had risen up and was giving to the people the word of the 
Lord. It was more than four hundred years since God had sent a. 



John's Words to the People 



523 



prophet to his people ; and when it was known that again a man was 
speaking what God had told him, and not what he had learned by 
studying the old writings, a thrill went through the hearts of all the 
people. From all parts of the land, out of cities and villages, people 
poured forth to the wild region beside the river Jordan, where the 
new prophet was preaching the word of the Lord. 

This prophet was John, the son of Zacharias. He lived in the 
wilderness, where he was alone with God and listened to God's 
voice. Then he spoke to the people the words that God had given 
to him. In his looks and dress John was not like other men. His 
garment was made of rough cloth woven from camel's hair ; around 
his waist was a girdle of skin; and the food which he ate was 
dried locusts 
and the wild 
honey from 
the trees. And 
this was his 
message, 
"Turn from 
sin to doing 
right, for the 
kingdom of 
heaven is at 
hand, and the 

ivmg IS SOOn tO JOHN the baptist in the wilderness. 

come." The 

people came to hear his words, and when they asked him, "What 
shall we do?" John said to them, " He that has two coats, let him 
give to him that has none; and he that has food, more than he / 
needs, let him give to him that is hungry." 

The men who gathered the taxes, and were called publicans, 
asked of John, "Master, what shall we do?" And John answered 
them, " Do not cheat the people, nor rob them, nor take more money 
than the law tells you to take from them." 

And when the soldiers came to him, he said to them, "Do not 
harm any one, nor bring false charges against any ; and be content 
with the wages that are paid to you." 

There came to John some people who were called Pharisees. 
These men made a great show of being good, and of worshipping 




524 The Prophet in the Wilderness 

often, and of keeping the law of Moses. But in their hearts they 
were evil, and their goodness was not real. John said to these men 
when he saw them, "0 ye brood of vipers! Who has told you to 
escape from the wrath of God that is soon to come? Turn from 
your sins to God, and do right. And do not say to yourselves, 
'Abraham is our father,' for God is able out of these stones to raise 
up children to Abraham." 

When men who heard the words of John wished to give them- 
selves up to serve God and to do his will, John baptized them in the 
river Jordan, as a sign that their sins were washed away. And 
because of this he was called "John the Baptist/' Some of the 
people began to ask, "Is not this man the Christ whom God prom- 
ised long ago to send to rule over the people ? " 

John heard this, and he said, "I baptize you with water, but 
there is one coming after me who is greater than I. He shall bap- 
tize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. He is so high above me 
that I am not worthy even to stoop down and untie the strings of 
his shoes. This mighty one who is coming shall sift out the wheat 
from the chaff among the people. The wheat he will gather into 
his garner, but the chaff he will burn up with fire that no man can 
put out." 

Nearly all the people in the land came to hear John in the wil- 
derness, and were baptized by him. Among the last who came was 
Jesus, the young carpenter from Nazareth. When John saw Jesus 
something within told John that here was one greater and holier 
than himself. He said to Jesus, "I have need to be baptized by 
thee, and comest thou to me? " 

Jesus answered him, " Let it be so now, for it is fitting that I 
should do all things that are right." 

Then John baptized Jesus, as he had baptized others. And as 
Jesus came up out of the water, and was praying, John saw above 
the head of Jesus the heavens opening, and the Holy Spirit coming 
down like a dove and lighting upon him. And John heard from 
heaven a voice saying: 

"This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." 

And then John knew and told to others that this was the Son 
of God, the Christ whom God had promised to send to the people. 



Story Six. 



JESUS IN THE DESERT, AND BESIDE 
THE RIVER. 

Matthew iv : i to n ; Mark i : 12, 13 ; Luke iv : I to 13 ; 
John i : 29 to 51. 




ROM the earliest years of Jesus the Holy Spirit of God 
was with him, growing as he grew. And in the hour 
when he was baptized and the form of a dove w T as seen 
hovering over him, Jesus was filled with the Holy Spirit 
as no man before him had been filled, for he was the 
Son of God. At that hour he knew more fully than he had ever 
known before the work that he should do to save men. The Spirit 
of God sent Jesus into the desert, there to be for a time alone with 
God and to plan out his work for men. 

So earnest was the thought of Jesus in the desert, so full was 
his union with God, that for forty days he never once ate anything, 
or felt any wish for food. But when the forty days were ended, then 
suddenly hunger came upon him, and he felt faint and starving, as 
any other man would feel who had fasted for so long a time. 

At that moment Satan, the evil spirit, came to Jesus, just as he 
comes to us, and put a thought into his mind. It was this thought : 

"If you are the Son of God, you can do whatever you please, 
and can have whatever you wish. Why do you not command that' 
these stones be turned into loaves of bread for you to eat? " J 

Jesus knew that he could do this, but he knew also that this 
power had been given to him, not for himself, but that he might 
help others. He said to the evil spirit, " It is written in God's book, 
' Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that cometh 
out of the mouth of God." 

Then the evil spirit led Jesus to Jerusalem, the holy city, and 
brought him to the top of a high tower on the Temple, and said to 
him, " Now show all the people that you aie the Son of God by throw- 

(5*5) 



526 Jesus in the Desert, and Beside the River 

ing yourself down to the ground. You know that it is written in 
the book of Psalms, ' He shall give his angels charge over thee ; and 
in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy 
foot against a stone.' " 

But Jesus knew that this would not be right, for it would be 
done not to please God, but to show himself before men and as a 
trial of God's power, when God himself had not commanded it. He 
answered, " It is written again, 'Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy 
God.' " 

Again the evil spirit tried to lead Jesus into doing wrong, as he 
leads us all. He led him to the top of a high mountain, and caused 
a vision of all the kingdoms of the world and their glory to stand 
before the eyes of Jesus. Then he said, "All these shall be yours; 
you shall be the king of all the earth if you will only fall down and 
worship me." 

Then Jesus said to him, "Leave me, Satan, thou evil spirit! 
For it is written, ' Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him 
only shalt thou serve.' " 

When Satan found that Jesus would not listen to him, he left 
him ; and then the angels of God came to Jesus in the desert and 
gave to him the food that he needed. 

After this victory over the evil spirit, Jesus went again from 
the desert to the place at the river Jordan where he had been bap- 
tized. It was near a city sometimes called Bethabara, a word 
which means "a place of crossing," because it was one of the places 
where the river Jordan was so shallow that the people could walk 
across it. The city was called also "Bethany beyond Jordan," so 
that it would not be mistaken for another Bethany on the Mount 
of Olives, very near Jerusalem. 

There John the Baptist saw Jesus coming toward him, and he 
said, " Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the 
world! This is the one of whom I spoke, saying, c There is One 
coming after me who is greater than I.' This is the Son of God." 

And again, the next morning, John the Baptist was standing 
with two young men, his followers. They were fishermen who had 
come from the Sea of Galilee to hear him. One was named Andrew, 
and the other John. John the Baptist saw Jesus walking near by, 
and he said again, " Behold the Lamb of God!" 

When the two young men heard this they left John and went 



Two Men Follow Jesus 



$27 



to speak with Jesus, although they had not known him before. 
Jesus saw that they were following him, and he said " What is it 
that you wish from me? " 

They said to him, " Master, we would like to know where you 
; are staying, so that we can see you and talk with you." 

Jesus said to them, "Come and see." 

They went with Jesus and saw where he was staying, and 
stayed and talked with him, and listened to his words all the rest 
of that day, for it was about ten o'clock in the morning when they 



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IHMBl§l :;r 


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JESUS TEACHING BY THE SEA OF GALILEE. 

iarst saw Jesus. And these two young men went away from the 
meeting with Jesus, believing that Jesus was the Saviour and the 
King of Israel. These two, Andrew and John, were the first two 
men, after John the Baptist, to believe in Jesus. 

Each of these two men had a brother whom he wished might 
know Jesus. Andrew's brother was named Simon, and John's 
brother was named James. These four men were all fishermen 
together upon the Sea of Galilee. Andrew found his brother first, 
and he said to him, "We have found the Anointed One, the Christ, 
who is to be the King of Israel." 



528 Jesus in the Desert, and Beside the River 

And Andrew brought his brother to meet Jesus. Jesus saw 
him coming, and without waiting to hear his name, he said, " Your 
name is Simon, and you are the son of Jonas. But I will give you 
a new name. You shall be called ' The Rock. ' " 

The word "rock" in Hebrew, the language of the Jews, was 
" Cephas," and in Greek, the language in which the New Testament 
was written, it is " Petros," or Peter. So from that time Simon was 




JESUS MAKES PET] 



W HIS DISCIPLES. 



called Simon Peter, that is, " Simon the Rock." So now Jesus had 
three followers, Andrew, John, and Simon Peter. The next day 
he was going back to Galilee, the part of -the land where was his 
home, he met another man named Philip, who had also come from 
Galilee. He said to Philip, " Follow me." 

And Philip went with Jesus as the fourth of his followers. 
Philip found a friend, whose name was Nathanael. He came from 
a place in Galilee, called Cana. Philip said to Nathanael, " We have 



Nathanael Follows Jesus 529 

found the one of whom Moses wrote in the law, and of whom the 
prophets spoke, the Anointed Christ. It is Jesus of Nazareth." 

Nathanael lived not many miles from Nazareth, and he did not 
think that such a place as Nazareth could have in it one so great as 
the Christ, whom the Jews looked for as their king. He said to 
Philip, rather in scorn, "Can there any good thing come out of 
Nazareth?" 

Philip knew that if Nathanael could only meet Jesus and hear 
his words he would believe in him, as the others believed. He said 
to Nathanael, " Come and see him for yourself." 

And he brought Nathanael to Jesus. As soon as Jesus saw 
him he said, " Here is an Israelite indeed, a man without evil." 

Nathanael was surprised at this, and he said to Jesus, "Master, 
how did you know me ? ' ' 

11 Before Philip called you, when you were standing under the 
fig-tree, I saw you," said Jesus. 

At this Nathanael wondered all the more, for he saw that Jesus 
knew what no man could know. He said, "Master, thou art the 
Son of God ! Thou art the King of Israel ! " 

Jesus said to Nathanael, "Do you believe in me because I tell 
you that I saw you under the fig-tree ? You shall see greater things 
than these. The time shall come when you will see heaven opened, 
and the angels of God going up and coming down through me, the 
Son of God." 

Jesus had now five followers. These men and others who 
walked with him, and listened to his words, were called "disciples," 
a word which means "learners." 



Story 5er>en. 



THE WATER JARS AT THE WEDDING 

FEAST. 

John ii : i, to iii : 21, 




FEW days after Jesus met his first followers or disciples 
at the river Jordan, he came with these men to a town 
in Galilee called Cana, to be present at a wedding. 
In those lands a feast was always held at a wedding, 
and often the friends of those who were married 
stayed several days, eating and drinking together. 

The mother of Jesus was at this wedding as a friend of the 
family, for Nazareth, wdiere she lived, Avas quite near to Cana. 
Before the wedding feast was over all the wine had been used, and 
there was no more for the guests to drink. The mother of Jesus 
knew that her son had power to do whatever he chose, and she said 
to him, "They have no wine." 

Jesus said to her, "0 woman, what have I to do with thee? 
My hour is not yet come." 

But his mother knew that Jesus would in some way help the 
people in their need ; and she said to the servants who were waiting 
at the table, " Whatever he tells you to do, be sure to do it." 

In the dining hall were standing six large stone jars, each about 
as large as a barrel, holding twenty-five gallons. These jars held 
water for washing, as the Jews washed their hands before every 
meal, and washed their feet as often as they came from walking in 
the street, since they wore no shoes, but only sandals. Jesus said 
to the servants, " Fill the water-jars with w r ater." 

The servants obeyed Jesus, and filled the jars up to the brim. 
Then Jesus spoke to them again, and said, "Now draw out some of 
the w r ater, and take it to the ruler of the feast." 

They drew out water from the jars, and saw that it had been 
turned into wine. The ruler did not know from what place the wine 
had come, but he said to the young man who had just been married, 

(530) 



Jesus Again in the Temple 



531 



the bridegroom, "At a feast everybody gives his best wine at the 
beginning, and afterward, when his guests have drunk freely, he 
brings on wine that is not so good ; but you have kept the good wine 
until now." 

This was the first time that Jesus used the power that God had 
given him, to do what no other man could do. Such works as these 
were called "miracles," and Jesus did them as signs of his power as 
the Son of God. When the disciples saw this miracle they 
believed in Jesus more fully than before. After this Jesus went 
with his mother and his younger brothers to a place called Caper- 
naum, on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, But they stayed there 
only a few days, for the feast of the Passover was near, and Jesus 
went up to Jeru- 
salem to attend 
it. You remem- 
ber that the feast 
of the Passover 
was held every 
year to keep in 
mind how God 
had led the peo- 
ple of Israel out 
of Egypt long 
before. 

When Jesus 
came to Jerusa- 
lem he found in 
the courts of the Temple men who were selling oxen and sheep 
and doves for the sacrifices, and other men sitting at tables 
changing the money of Jews who came from other lands into 
the money of Judea. All this made the courts around the 
Temple seem like a market, and not a place for the worship of 
God. 

Jesus picked up some cord, and made from it a little whip. 
With it he began to drive out of the Temple all the buyers and 
sellers. He was but one, and they were many ; but such power was 
in his look that they ran before him. He drove the men, and the 
sheep and the oxen; he overturned the tables, and threw on the 
floor the money; and to those who were selling the doves he said, 




JESUS AT THE WEDDING FEAST 



532 The Water Jars at the Wedding Feast. 

"Take these things away; make not my Father's house a house for 
selling and buying!" 

These acts of Jesus were not pleasing to the rulers of the Jews, 
for many of them were getting rich by this selling of sacrifices and 
changing of money. Some of the rulers came to Jesus, and said to 
him, "What right have you to come here and do such things as 




JESUS DRIVES THE BUYERS AND SELLERS FROM THE TEMPLE. 



these? What sign can you show that God has given to you power 
to rule in this place?" 

Jesus said to them, " I will give you a sign. Destroy this house 
of God, and in three days I will raise it up." 

Then said the Jews, " It has taken forty-six years to build this 
Temple, and it is not finished yet. Will you raise it up in three 
days?" 

But Jesus did not mean that Temple on Mount Moriah. He 
was speaking of himself; for in him God was dwelling as in a temple, 
and he meant that when they should put him to death, he would 
rise again in three days. Afterward, when Jesus had died and risen 



Jesus and the Ruler 533 

again, his followers, the disciples, thought of what he had said, and 
understood these words. 

While Jesus was in Jerusalem one of the rulers of the Jews, a 
man named Nicodemus, came to see him. He came in the night, 
perhaps because he was afraid to be seen coming in the daytime. 
He said to Jesus, "Master, we know that you are a teacher come 
from God, for no man can do these wonderful things that you do 
unless God is with him." 

Jesus said to Nicodemus, " I say to you in truth, that unless a 
man is born anew he cannot see the kingdom of God." 

Nicodemus did not know that this meant that to be saved we 
must have new hearts given to us by the Lord. He said, "Why, 
how can a man be born twice? How can one be born again after 
he has grown up? " 

Jesus said to him, " I tell you of a truth, that unless a man is 
born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom 
of God." 

By this he meant that we must be baptized, and that God must 
put his Spirit in us, if we are to become God's children. Jesus said 
also, "As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must 
the Son of Man be lifted up, that every one who believes in him may 
have everlasting life. For God so loved the world that he gave his 
only Son, that whosoever believes in him may not perish, but may 
have everlasting life. For God sent not his son into the world 
to condemn (that is to judge) the world ; but that the world through 
him might be saved." 

We have already read in Story Thirty-two in Part First, how 
Moses lifted up the brazen serpent in the wilderness, and how that 
serpent pointed to Christ. 



Story (Eigfy. 



THE STRANGER AT THE WELL. 

Matthew xiv : 3 to 5 ; Mark vi : 17 to 20; Luke iii : 19, 20; John 

iii : 22, to iv: 42. 




( HILE Jesus was teaching in Jerusalem and in the country 
places near it, John the Baptist was still preaching and 
baptizing. But already the people were leaving John 
and going to hear Jesus. Some of the followers of 
John the Baptist were not pleased as they saw that 
fewer people came to their master, and that the crowds were seeking 
Jesus. But John said to them, "I told you that I am not the 
Christ, but that I am sent before him. Jesus is the Christ, the 
King. He must grow greater, while I must grow less, and I am 
glad that it is so." 

Soon after this Herod Antipas, the king of the province or land 
of Galilee, put John in prison. Herod had taken for his wife a 
woman named Herodias, who had left her husband to live with 
Herod, which was very wicked. John sent word to Herod that it 
was not right for him to have this woman as his wife. These words 
of John made Herodias very angry. She hated John, and tried to 
kill him. Herod himself did not hate John so greatly, for he knew 
that John had spoken the truth. But he was weak, and yielded 
to his wife Herodias. To please her he sent John the Baptist to a 
lonely prison among the mountains east of the Dead Sea, for the land 
in that region, as well as Galilee, was under Herod's rule. There in 
prison Herod hoped to keep John safe from the hate of his wife 
Herodias. 

Soon after John the Baptist was thrown into prison, Jesus left 
the country near Jerusalem, with his disciples, and went toward 
Galilee, the province in the north. Between Judea in the south and 
Galilee in the north lay the land of Samaria, where the Samaritans 
lived, who hated the Jews. They worshipped the Lord as the Jews 
worshipped him, but they had their own temple and their own 

(534) 



Jesus at Jacob's Well 



535 



priests. And they had their own Bible, which was only the five 
books of Moses, for they would not read the other books of the Old 
Testament. The Jews and the Samaritans would scarcely ever 
speak to each other, so great was the hate between them. 

When Jews went from Galilee to Jerusalem, or from Jerusalem 
to Galilee, they would not pass through Samaria, but went down 
the mountains to the river Jordan, and walked beside the river, in 
order to go around Samaria. But Jesus, when he would go from 



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THE WOMAN OF SAMARIA SEES JESUS AT THE WELL. 

Jerusalem to Galilee, walked over the mountains, straight through 
Samaria. One morning, while he was on his journey, he stopped to 
rest beside an old well at the foot of Mount Gerizim, not far from 
the city of Shechem, but nearer to a little village that was called 
Sychar. This well had been dug by Jacob, the great father or 
ancestor of the Israelites, many hundreds of years before. It was 
an old well then in the days of Jesus, and it is much older now, for 
the same well may be seen in that place still. Even now travellers 
may have a drink from Jacob's well, as we read in Story Fourteen 
in Part First. 



53^ The Stranger at the Well. 

It was early in the morning, about sunrise, when Jesus was 
sitting by Jacob's well. He was very tired, for he had walked a 
long journey; he was hungry, and his disciples had gone to the 
village near at hand to buy food. He was thirsty, too ; and as he 
looked into the well he could see the water, a hundred feet below, 
but he had no rope with which to let down a cup or a jar and to 
draw up some water to drink. 

Just at this moment a Samaritan woman came to the well, with 
her water -jar upon her head, and her rope in her hand. Jesus looked 
at her, and in one glance read her soul, and saw all her life. He 
knew that Jews did not often speak to Samaritans, but he said to 
her, "Please to give me a drink." 

The woman saw from his looks and his dress that he was a Jew ; 
and she said to him, " How is it that you, who are a Jew, ask drink 
of me, a Samaritan woman?" 

Jesus answered her, " If you knew what God's free gift is, and 
if you knew who it is that says to you, ' Give me a drink, ' you would 
ask him to give you living water, and he would give it to you." 

There was something in the words and the looks of Jesus which 
made the woman feel that he was not a common man. She said to 
him, "Sir, you have nothing to draw water with, and the well is 
deep. Where can you get that living water? Are you greater 
than our father Jacob, who drank from this well, and who gave it 
to us?" 

" Whoever drinks of this water," said Jesus, " shall thirst again ; 
but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him shall never 
thirst ; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of 
water springing up unto everlasting life." 

"Sir," said the woman, "give me some of this water of yours, 
so that I will not thirst any more, nor come all the way to this well." 

Jesus looked at the woman, and said to her, "Go home, and 
bring your husband, and come here." 

"I have no husband," answered the woman. 

"Yes," said Jesus, "you have spoken the truth. You have no 
husband. But you have had five husbands, and the man whom 
you now have is not your husband." 

The woman was filled with wonder as she heard this. She saw 
that here was a man who knew what a stranger could not know. 
She felt that God had spoken to him, and she said, " Sir, I see that 



The Woman Forgets Her Water-jar 537 

you are a prophet of God. Tell me, whether our people or the Jews 
are right. Our fathers have worshipped on this mountain. The 
Jews say that Jerusalem is the place where men should go to wor- 
ship. Now, which of these is the right place? " 

''Woman, believe me," said Jesus, "there is coming a time 
when men shall worship God in other places besides on this moun- 
tain and in Jerusalem. The time is near; it has even now come, 
when the true worshippers everywhere shall pray to God in spirit 
and in truth; for God himself is a Spirit." 

The woman said, "I know that the Anointed One is coming, 
the Christ. When he comes he will teach us all things." 

Jesus said to her, " I that speak to you now am he, the Christ ! " 

Just at this time the disciples of Jesus came back from the 
village. They wondered to see Jesus talking with this Samaritan 
woman, but they said nothing. 

The woman had come to draw water, but in her interest in this 
wonderful stranger she forgot her errand. Leaving her water- jar, 
she ran back to her village, and said to the people, " Come, see a man 
who told me everything that I have done in all my life ! Is not this 
man the Christ whom we are looking for?" 

When the woman w r as gone away, the disciples urged Jesus to 
eat some of the food wmich they had brought. A little while before 
Jesus had been hungry, but now he had forgotten his own needs of 
food and drink. He said to them, "I have food to eat that you 
know nothing of, the food of the soul ; and that food is to do the 
will of God, and to work for him. Do you say to me that there are 
four months before the harvest? I tell you to look on the fields, 
and see them Avhite for the harvest. You shall reap, and shall 
have a rich reward, gathering fruit to everlasting life." 

Jesus meant that as this woman, bad though she may have 
been before, was now ready to hear his words ; so they would find 
the hearts of men everywhere, like a field of ripe grain, ready to be 
won and to be saved. 

Soon the woman came back to the well with many of her people. 
They asked Jesus to come to their town, and to stay there and teach 
them. He went with them, and stayed there two days, teaching 
the people, who were Samaritans. And many of the people in that 
place believed in Jesus, and said, "We have heard for ourselves; 
now we know that this is indeed the Saviour of the world." 



Story Hine. 



THE STORY OF A BOY IN CAPERNAUM,; 
AND OF A RIOT IN NAZARETH. 

John iv: 46 to 54 ; Luke iv : 16 to 31. 




ROM Sychar, the village near Jacob's well, Jesus went 
northward into Galilee, to Cana, the place where he 
had made the water into wine, as Ave read in Story 
Seven of this Part. The news that Jesus had come 
back from Jerusalem, and was again in Galilee, went 
through all that part of the land, and everybody wished to 
see the prophet who had wrought such wonders. 

There was one man living in Capernaum, a town beside the 
Sea of Galilee, who heard with great joy that Jesus was again at 
Cana. He was a man of high rank, a nobleman at the court of 
King Herod ; but he was in deep trouble over his son, who was very 
sick, and in danger of dying. This nobleman went up the moun- 
tains in great haste from Capernaum to Cana, to see Jesus. He rode 
all night, and in the morning, when he found Jesus, he begged him 
to come down to Capernaum and cure his son. Jesus said to the 
man, "You people will not believe on me as the Saviour, unless you 
continually see signs and wonders." 

"0 my lord," said the father, "do come down quickly, or my 
child will die." 

" You may go home," said Jesus, " for your son will live." 
The man believed the words of Jesus, and went home, but he 
did not hurry, nor did he ask Jesus to go with him. The next morn- 
ing, as he was going down the mountains, his servants met him, and 
said, "Master, your son is living, and is better." 

" At what hour did he begin to grow better? " asked the noble- 
man. 

''It was yesterday, at seven o'clock in the morning, when the 
fever left him v " they answered. • 

(538) 



Jesus at Nazareth 



539 



That was the very hour when Jesus had said to him, " Your son 
will live." And after that- the nobleman believed in Jesus, and so 
did all who were living in his house. 

Jesus had come to Galilee to preach to the people, and to tell 
them of his gospel. He thought that he would begin his preaching 
in the town of Nazareth, where he had lived so many years, where 
his brothers and sisters were living still, and where all the people 
had known him. He loved the men who had played with him when 




THE WELL OF THE WISE MEN, NEAR BETHLEHEM. 



he and they were boys together, and he longed to give them the first 
news of his gospel. 

So Jesus went to Nazareth ; and, as on the Sabbath-days he had 
always worshipped in the synagogue, he went to that place once 
more. He was no longer the carpenter, but the teacher, the prophet, 
of whom all in the land were talking, and the synagogue was filled 
with people eager to hear him, and, especially, hoping to see him do 
some wonderful works. Seated on the floor before him were men 
who had known him since he was a little boy, and perhaps some of 
his own sisters were looking down from the gallery behind the lat- 
tice-screen. 

Jesus stood up, to show that he wished to read from the Scrip- 
tures, and the officer who had the care of the books handed him the 



54° The Story of a Boy in Capernaum. 

roll of the prophet Isaiah. Jesus turned to the sixty-first chapter, 
and from it read : 

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, 

Because he hath anointed me to preach good tidings to the poor. 

He hath sent me to proclaim freedom to the captives, 

And recovering of sight to the blind, 

To set at liberty those that are bruised, 

To proclaim the year of God's grace to men. 

When Jesus had read these words he rolled up the book and' 
gave it again to the keeper of the rolls, and sat down; for in the 
synagogue a man stood up to read the Bible, and sat down to speak 
to the people. He began by saying : 

"This day this word of the Lord has come to pass before 
you." 

And then he showed how he had been sent to preach to the 
poor, to set the captives free, to give sight to the blind, to comfort 
those in trouble, and to tell to men the news of God's grace. At 
first the people listened with the deepest interest, and they were 
touched with the kind and tender words that he spoke. 

But soon they began to whisper among themselves. One said, 
" Why should this carpenter try to teach us? " And another, " This 
man is no teacher! He is only the son of Joseph! We know his 
brothers, and his sisters are living here." And some began to say, 
"Why does he not do here the wonders that they say he has done 
in other places? We want to see some of his miracles ! " 

Jesus knew their thoughts, and he said, "I know that you will 
say to me, ' Let us see a miracle like that on the nobleman's son in 
Capernaum.' Of a truth, I say to you, 'No prophet has honor 
among his own people.' 

"You remember what is told of Elijah the prophet; when the 
heavens were shut up, and there was no rain for three years and six 
months. There were many widows in the land of Israel at that 
time, but Elijah was not sent by the Lord to any one of them. The 
Lord sent him out of the land to Zarephath, a town near Zidon, to 
a widow there ; and there he wrought his miracles. 

"And in the time of Elisha the prophet, there were many lepers 
in Israel that Elisha might have cured; but the only leper that 
Elisha made well was Naaman the Syrian." 



Jesus Leaves Nazareth 



54i 



All this made the people in the synagogue very angry ; for they 
cared only to see some wonderful work, and not to hear the words 
of Jesus. They would not listen to him ; they leaped up from their 
seats upon the floor ; they laid hold of Jesus, and dragged him out 
doors. They then took him up to the top of the hill above the city, 
and they would have thrown him down to his death. But Jesus, 
by the power of God, slipped quietly out of their hands and went 
away, for the time for him to die had not yet come. 

Very sadly Jesus went aw T ay from Nazareth, for he had longed 
to bring God's blessings to his own people. He walked down the 
mountains to the city of Capernaum, by the seashore, and there on 
the Sabbath-days he taught the people in the synagogues. 

You can read the story of Elijah the prophet and the woman 
of Zarephath in Story Three of Part Fourth, and the story of Elisha 
healing Naaman the Syrian in Story Thirteen of Part Fourth. These 
were the stories of which Jesus spoke to the people in the synagogue 
at Nazareth. 




Jacob's well as it is now. 



Story Cen. 



A NET FULL OF FISHES. 

Matthew iv : 18 to 22 ; Mark i : 16 to 34 ; Luke iv : 33, to v : 11 




,0U remember that when Jesus was by the river 
Jordan, a few young men came to him as followers 
or disciples. We have read of these men, — Andrew 
and John, Peter and Philip, and Nathanael, in Story 
Six of this Part. While Jesus was teaching near 
Jerusalem and in Samaria, these men stayed with Jesus; but 
when he came to Galilee, they went again to their homes and their 
work, for most of them were fishermen from the Sea of Galilee. 

One morning, soon after Jesus came to Capernaum, he went 
out of the city, by the sea, followed by a great throng of people, 
who had come together to see him and to hear him. On the shore 
were lying two fishing boats, one of which belonged to Simon and 
Andrew, the other to James and John and their father Zebedee. 
The men themselves were not in the boats, but were washing their 
nets near by. 

Jesus stepped into the boat that belonged to Simon Peter and 
his brother Andrew, and asked them to push it out a little into the 
lake, so that he could talk to the people from it without being 
crowded too closely. They pushed it out; and then Jesus sat in 
the boat, and sooke to the people as they stood upon the beach. 
After he had finished speaking to the people, and had sent them 
away, he said to Simon Peter: 

" Put out into the deep water, and let down your nets to catch 
some fish." 

"Master," said Simon, "we have been fishing all night, and 
have caught nothing ; but if it is your will, I will let down the net 
again." 

They did as Jesus bade them ; and now the net caught so many 
fishes, that Simon and Andrew could not pull it up, and it was in 
danger of breaking. They made signs to the two brothers, James 

(54 2 ) 



Jesus Finds Four Disciples 



543 



and John, who were in the other boat, for them to come and help 
them. They came, and lifted the net, and poured out the fish. 
There were so many of them that both the boats were filled, and 
began to sink. 

When Simon Peter saw this, he was struck with wonder, and 
felt that it was by the power of God. He fell down at the feet of 
Jesus, saying, "0 Lord, I am full of sin, and am not worthy of all 
this! Leave me, O Lord." 

But Jesus said to Simon, and to the others, " Fear not ; but 
follow me, and I will make you from this time fishers of men." 




JESUS CALLS JAMES AND JOHN. 

From that time these four men, Simon and Andrew, James and 
John, gave up their nets and their work, and walked with Jesus as 
his disciples. 

On the Sabbath after this Jesus and his disciples went together 
to the synagogue, and spoke to the people. They listened to him 
and were surprised at his teaching; for while the scribes always 
repeated what the other scribes had said before, Jesus never spoke 
of what the men of old time had taught ; but spoke in his own name, 
and by his own power, saying, "I say unto you," as one who had 



544 



A Net Full of Fishes 



the right to speak. Men felt that Jesus was speaking to them as 
the voice of God. 

On one Sabbath, while Jesus was preaching, a man came into 
the synagogue, who had in him an evil spirit; for sometimes evil 
spirits came into men, and lived in them, and spoke out from them. 
The evil spirit in this man cried out, saying : 

" Let us alone, thou Jesus of Nazareth ! What have we to do 
with thee? Hast thou come to destroy us? I know thee; and I 
know who thou art, the Holy One of God!" Then Jesus spoke to 
the evil spirit in the man, "Be still; and come out of this man!" 

Then the evil spirit threw the man down, and seemed as if he 




THE NETS WERE FILLED 
FISHES. 



would tear him apart ; but he came out, and left the man lying on 
the ground, without harm. 

Then wonder fell upon all the people. They were filled with 
fear, and said, "What mighty word is this? This man speaks even 
to the evil spirits, and they q,bey him!" 

After the meeting in the synagogue Jesus went into the house 
where Simon Peter lived. There he saw lying upon a bed the 
mother of Simon's wife, who was very ill with a burning fever. He 
stood over her, and touched her hand. At once the fever left her; 
she rose up from her bed and waited upon them. 

At sunset the Sabbath-day was over; and then they brought 




JESUS TEACHING AT NAZARETH. 



35 



546 The Leper Let Down Through the Roof 

to Jesus from all parts of the city those that were sick, and some 
that had evil spirits in them. Jesus laid his hands upon the sick 
and they became well ; he drove out the evil spirits by a word, and 
would not allow them to speak 



Story (EIet>en. 



THE LEPER, AND THE MAN LET DOWN 
THROUGH THE ROOF. 

Matthew viii : 2 to 4 ; ix : 2 to 8 ; Mark i : 40 to 45 ; ii : 1 to 12 ; 

Luke v : 12 to 26. 




FTER the great day of teaching and healing, of which 
we read in the last story, Jesus lay down to rest in 
the house of Simon Peter. But very early the next 
morning, before it was light, he rose up, and went out 
of the house to a place where he could be alone, and 
there for a long time he prayed to God. Soon Simon and the other 
disciples missed him, and sought for him until they found him. 
They said, " Everybody is looking for you; come back to the city." 
But Jesus said, " No, I cannot stay in Capernaum. There are 
other places where I must preach the kingdom of God, for this is the 
work to which I am sent." 

And Jesus went out through all the towns in that part of 
Galilee, preaching in the synagogues, and healing all kinds of sick- 
ness, and casting out the evil spirits. His disciples were with him, 
and great crowds followed him from all the land. They came to 
hear his wonderful words and to see his wonderful works. 

While he was on this journey of preaching in Galilee a leper 
came to him. You remember, from the story of Naaman the Syrian 



Jesus Touched the Leper 



547 



(Story Thirteen in Part Fourth), what a terrible disease leprosy was, 
and still is, in those lands, and that no man could cure the leper. 

This poor leper fell down before the feet of Jesus, and cried out, 
" O Lord, if you are willing, I know that you can make me well and 
clean ! ' ' Jesus was 
^full of pity for this 
poor man. He 
reached out his 
hand and touched 
him, and said, " I 
am willing; be 
clean!" And in a 
moment all he 
scales of leprosy fell 
away, his skin be- 
came pure, and the 
leper stood up a well 
man. Jesus said to 
him, "Do not tell 
any one ; but go to 
the priests, and of- 
fer the gift that the 
law commands, and 
let them see that 
you have been 
cured." 

Jesus said this 
because he knew 
that if the man 
should tell every 
one whom he met 
how he had been 
cured, such crowds 
would come to him 

for healing that he would find no time for preaching the word of 
God; and preaching God's word, and not healing the sick, was the 
great work of Jesus. 

But this leper who had been healed did not obey the command 
of Jesus. He could not keep still, and told everybody whom he 




THE MAN LET DOWN THROUGH THE ROOF. 



548 The Leper Let Down Through the Roof 

knew that Jesus, the great prophet, had taken away his leprosy. 
And it came to pass as Jesus had expected; such great crowds 
gathered in all the towns and villages to see Jesus, and to ask him 
to heal their sick, that Jesus could not enter the cities to preach the 
gospel. He went out to the fields and the open country, and there 
the people followed him in great throngs. 

After a time Jesus came again to Capernaum, which was now 
his home. As soon as the people heard that he was there they came 
in great crowds to see him and to hear him. They filled the house, 
and the courtyard inside its walls, and even the streets around it, 
while Jesus sat in the open court of the house and taught them. It 
was the spring-time and warm, and a roof had been placed over the 
court as a shelter from the sun. - 

In the crowd listening to Jesus were not only his friends, but 
some that were his enemies, Pharisees, men making a great show 
of serving God, but wicked in their hearts, and scribes who taught 
the law, but were jealous of this new teacher, whose words were so 
far above theirs. These men were watching to find some evil in 
Jesus, so that they might lead the people away from him. 

While Jesus was teaching, and these men were listening, the 
roof was suddenly taken away above their heads. They looked 
up, and saw that a man was being let down in a bed by four men 
on the walls above. 

This man had a sickness called palsy, which made his limbs 
shake all the time, and kept him helpless, so that he could neither 
walk nor stand. He was so eager to come to Jesus that these men, 
finding that they could not carry him through the crowd, had lifted 
him up to the top of the house, and had opened the roof, and were 
now letting him down in his bed before Jesus. 

This showed that they believed in Jesus, without any doubt 
whether he could cure this man from his palsy. Jesus said to the 
man, " My son, be of good cheer; your sins are forgiven! " 

The enemies of Jesus who were sitting near heard these words, 
and they thought in their own minds, though they did not speak it 
aloud " What wicked things this man speaks ! He claims to forgive 
sins! W r ho except God himself has power to say, 'Your sins are 
forgiven ? " ' 

Jesus knew their thoughts, for he knew all things, and he said, 
11 Why do you think evil in your hearts ? Which is the easier to say, 



The Palsied Man Walking 



549 



* Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Rise tip and walk?' But I will 
show you that while I am on earth as the Son of man, I have the 
power to forgive sins." 

Then he spoke to the palsied man on his couch before them, 
" Rise up, take up your bed, and go to your house!" 

At once a new life and power came to the palsied man. He 
stood upon his feet, rolled up the bed on which he had been lying 
helpless, placed it on his shoulders and walked out through the 
crowd, which opened to make a way for him. The man went, 
strong and well, to his own house, praising God as he walked. 

By this Jesus had shown that, as the Son of God, he had the 
right to forgive the sins of men. 

These enemies of Jesus could say nothing, but in their hearts 
they hated him more than ever, for they saw that the people believed 
on Jesus. They praised the Lord God, and felt fear toward one 
who could do such mighty works, and they said, "We have seen 
strange things to-day!" 




JESUS HEARS THE MOTHER S PRAYER. 



Story Ctoefoe, 



THE CRIPPLE AT THE POOL, AND THE 

WITHERED HAND IN THE 

SYNAGOGUE. 

Matthew xii : i to 14 ; Mark ii : 23, to iii : 6 ; Luke vi : 1 to 11 ; 

John v : 1 to 18. 




,HILE Jesus was living in Capernaum the time for the 

Passover of the Jews drew near, and Jesus went up to 

Jerusalem to keep the feast, as he had kept it a year 

before. You remember that at that time he drove 

out of the Temple the people that were buying and 

selling. We read this in Story Seven of this Part. The feast 

which Jesus now kept was the second Passover in the three years 

while Jesus was preaching. 

While Jesus was at Jerusalem he saw in the city, not far from 
the Temple, a pool called Bethesda. Beside this pool were five 
arches or porches; and in these porches were lying a great crowd 
of sick and blind, helpless and crippled people. At certain times 
the water rose and bubbled up in the pool ; and it was believed that 
at these times it had power to cure diseases. We know that there 
are springs of water that will cure many kinds of sickness, and this 
may have been one of these. 

On the Sabbath-day Jesus walked among these poor helpless 
and suffering people, who were waiting for the water to rise. Jesus 
looked at one man, and though no one told him, he knew that this 
man had been a cripple, without power to walk, for almost forty 
years. He said to this man, " Do you wish to be made well? " 

The man did not know who Jesus was. He answered, "Sir, I 
cannot walk; and I have no man to carry me down to the water 
when it rises in the pool; but while I am trying to crawl down, 
others crowd in before me, and the place is full, so that I cannot 
reach the water and be cured." 

(55o) 



Carrying a Bed on the Sabbath 



55i 



Jesus said to the man, " Rise, take up your bed, and walk!" 
The cripple had never heard words like these before; but as 

they were spoken he felt a new power shoot through his limbs. He 

rose up, took the piece of matting on which he had been lying, rolled 

it up, and walked away toward his home ! 

Some one who saw him said, "Stop; this is the Sabbath-day, 

and it is against the law for you to carry your bed!" 




JESUS HEALS THE CRIPPLE AT THE POOL. 

The man did not lay down his load. He only said, "The one 
who made me well said to me, ' Take up your bed and walk.' " 

The Jews said, " Who was this man that told you to carry your 
bed on the Sabbath-day?" 

The man who had been cured did not know who it was that 
had cured him ; for there were many standing near, and Jesus, after 
healing the man, had walked away without being noticed. But 
after this Jesus met this man in the Temple, and said to him," You 
have been made well; do not sin against God any more, or some- 
thing worse than disease will come upon you." 



55 2 The Cripple at the Pool 

The man went away from the Temple, and old the Jews that 
it was Jesus who had made him well. The Jews were very angry 
at Jesus because he had cured this man on the Sabbath. But Jesus 
said to them, " My Father works on all days to do good to men, and 
I work also." 

These words made the Jews ready to kill Jesus, not only because, 
as they said, he had broken the Sabbath, but because he had spoken 
of God as his Father, as though he were the Son of God. He was 
indeed the Son of God, although they would not believe it. 

After the feast of the Passover Jesus went again to Capernaum 
in Galilee, beside the lake. One Sabbath-day he was walking with 
his disciples through the fields of ripe grain ; and the disciples, as 
they walked, picked the heads of grain, rubbed them in their hands, 
blew away the chaff, and ate the kernels of wheat. The law of the 
Jews allowed any one walking through the fields to eat what he 
could gather with his hands, though it did not allow him to take 
any of the grain home. But the Pharisees, whose goodness was all 
for show, said that it was a breaking of the Sabbath to pick the ears 
and to rub them in the hands on the Sabbath-day. They said to 
Jesus, "Do you see how your disciples are doing on the Sabbath 
what is against the law?" 

Jesus answered them, " Have you never read what David did 
when he was hungry? He went into the house of God, and took 
the holy bread from the table, and ate some of it, and gave some 
to his men, though the law said that only the priests might eat this 
bread. And do you not know that on the Sabbath-day the priests 
in the Temple do work, in killing and offering the sacrifices, yet they 
do no wrong? I say to you that one greater than the Temple is 
here ; for the Son of man is lord of the Sabbath." 

Jesus meant them to understand that he was the Son of God, 
that God lived in him even more fully than he lived in the Temple, 
and that he spoke as Lord of all. 

We have read this, about David and the holy bread in the 
Tabernacle, of which Jesus spoke to the Jews, in Story Seven of 
Part Third. 

On another Sabbath-day Jesus went to the synagogue. A man 
was there whose hand was withered. The Pharisees watched Jesus, 
to see whether on the Sabbath-day he would make his hand well. 
Not that they felt for the poor man ; they only wished to find some 



" Stretch Out Your Hand 



?? 



553 



chance to speak evil against Jesus. Jesus knew all their thoughts, 
and he spoke to the man, "Rise up, and stand where all can see 
you!" 

The man rose up from the mat where he had been sitting, and 
stood before all the people. Then Jesus looked around upon them 
sternly, being sad because their hearts were so hard and cruel, and 
he said, " Is it against the law to do good on the Sabbath-day, or to 
do evil? to heal a man, or to try to kill a man, as you are doing? 
If any one of you owns a sheep, and it falls into a pit on the Sabbath- 




JESUS AND HIS DISCIPLES IN THE FIELD OF GRAIN. 

day, will he not take hold of it and lift it out? Is not a man worth 
more than a sheep? I say unto you that it is right to do good to 
men on the Sabbath-day." 

And then, turning to the man, he said, " Stretch out your hand !" 
The man obeyed the word of Jesus, and held out his hand. At 
once it became strong and well, like his other hand. Many of the 
people were glad as they saw this; but the Pharisees, who hated 
Jesus, went out very angry; and they met together to find some 
plan for putting Jesus to death. 



Story Cfyirteen. 



THE TWELVE DISCIPLES AND THE 
SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 

Matthew ix : 9 to 13 ; v to viii ; Mark ii : 13 to 17 ; Luke v : 27 to 32 ; 

vi: 12 to 49. 




MONG the Jews there was one class of men hated and 
despised by the people more than any other. That 
was " the publicans." These were the men who took 
from the people the tax which the Roman rulers had 
laid upon the land. Many of these publicans were 
selfish, grasping, and cruel. They robbed the people, taking more 
than was right. Some of them were honest men, dealing fairly, and 
taking no more for the tax than was needful ; but because so many 
were wicked, all the publicans were hated alike; and they were 
called "sinners" by the people. 

One day, when Jesus was going out of Capernaum to the sea- 
side, followed by a great crowd of people, he passed a publican or 
tax-gatherer, who was seated at his table taking money from the 
people who came to pay their taxes. This man was named Matthew 
or Levi, for many Jews had two names. Jesus could look into the 
hearts of men, and he saw that Matthew was one who might help 
him as one of his disciples. He looked upon Matthew, and said, 
"Follow me!" 

At once the publican rose up from his table, and left it to go 
with Jesus. All the people wondered as they saw one of the hated 
publicans among the disciples, with Peter, and John, and the rest. 
But Jesus knew that Matthew would long afterward do a work that 
would bless the world forever. It was this same Matthew the pub- 
lican, who many years after this wrote "The Gospel according to 
Matthew," the book which tells us so much about Jesus, and more 
than any other book gives us the words that Jesus spoke to the 
people. Jesus chose Matthew, knowing that he would write this 

(554) 



Jesus and the Sinners 



555 



book. A little while after Jesus called him Matthew made a great 
feast for Jesus at his house ; and to the feast he invited many pub- 
licans, and others whom the Jews called sinners. The Pharisees 
saw Jesus sitting among these people, and they said with scorn to 
his disciples, "Why does your Master sit at the table with publicans 
and sinner s?" 

Jesus heard of what these men had said, and he said, "Those 
that are well do 
not need a doctor 
to cure them, but 
those that are 
sick do need one. 
I go to these peo- 
ple because they 
know that they 
are sinners and 
need to be saved. 
I came not to 
call those who 
think themselves 
to be good, but 
those who wish to 
be made better." 

One evening 
Jesus went alone 
to a mountain 
not far from 
Capernaum. A 
crowd of people 
and his disciples 
followed him ; 
but Jesus left 
them all, and went up to the top of the mountain, where he 
could be alone. There he stayed all night, praying to God, his 
Father and our Father. In the morning, out of all his followers, he 
chose twelve men who should walk with him, and listen to his words, 
so that they might be able to teach others in turn. Some of these 
men he had called before ; but now he called them again, and others 
with them. They were called "The Twelve," or "the disciples;" 




mm 



V 1 



JESUS CALLS MATTHEW. 



556 The Twelve Disciples on the Mount 

and after Jesus went to heaven they were called "The Apostles," 
a word which means "those who were sent out," because Jesus 
sent them out to preach the gospel to the world. 

The names of the twelve disciples, or apostles were these: 
Simon Peter, and his brother Andrew; James and John, the two 
sons of Zebedee ; Philip of Bethsaida, and Nathanael, who was also 
called Bartholomew, a name which means "the son of Tholmai; ,, 
Thomas, who was also called Didymus, a name which means "a 
twin," and Matthew, the publican or tax-gatherer; another James, 
the son of Alphaeus, who was called "James the Less," to keep his 
name apart from the first James, the brother of John, and Lebbeus, 
who was also called Thaddeus. Lebbeus was called also Judas, but 
he was a different man from another Judas, whose name is always 
given last. The eleventh name was another Simon, who w T as called 
"the Cananaen" or " Simon Zelotes ;" and the last name was Judas 
Iscariot, who was afterward the traitor. We know very little about 
most of these men, but some of them in later days did a great work. 
Simon Peter was a leader among them, and John, long after those 
times, when he was a very old man, wrote one of the most wonderful 
books in all the world, "The Gospel according to John," the fourth 
among the gospels. 

In the sight of all the people who had come to hear Jesus, Jesus 
called these twelve men to stand by his side. Then, on the moun- 
tain, he preached to these disciples and to the great company of 
people. Jesus sat down, the disciples stood beside him, and the 
great crowd of people stood in front, while Jesus spoke. What he 
said on that day is called "The Sermon on the Mount," Mat- 
thew wrote it down, and you can read it in his gospel, m the fifth, 
sixth, and seventh chapters. Jesus began with these words to his 
disciples : 

Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of 
heaven. 

Blessed are they that mourn : for they shall be comforted. 

Blessed are the meek : for they shall inherit the earth. 

Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteous- 
ness: for they shall be filled. 

Blessed are the merciful : for they shall obtain mercy. 

Blessed are the pure in heart : for they shall see God. 

Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the 
children of God. 



The End of the Sermon 557 

Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness 
sake : for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 

Blessed are ye when men shall revile you, and persecute you, 
and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my 
sake. 

Rejoice, and be exceeding glad; for great is your reward in 
heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before 
you. 

Ye are the salt of the earth : but if the salt have lost his savor, 
wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, 
but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men. 

Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill 
cannot be hid. 

Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but 
on a candlestick ; an:', it giveth light unto all that are in the 
house. 

Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your 
good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. 

Here are some more of the words of Jesus in this sermon : 

I say unto you, Do not be anxious for vour life what ye shall 
eat, or what ye shall drink ; nor yet for your body, what ye shall 
put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than rai- 
ment? 

Behold the birds of the air : for they sow not, neither do they 
reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth 
them. Are ye -not much better than they? 

Which of you, by taking thought, can add one cubit unto his 
stature? 

And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies 
of the field, how they grow : they toil not, neither do they spin : 

And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory 
was not arrayed like one of these. 

Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which 
to-day is, and to-morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much 
more clothe you, O ye of little faith? 

Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, 
What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? 

(For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your 
heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. 

But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; 
and all these things shall be added unto you. 

Take therefore no anxious thought for the morrow: for the 
morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient 
unto the day is the evil thereof. 



558 The Twelve Disciples on the Mount 

This is what Jesus said about prayer to our heavenly Father: 

Ask, and it shall be given you : seek, and ye shall find : knock, 
and it shall be opened unto you : 

For every one that asketh receiveth: and he that seeketh 
findeth : and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. 

Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will 
he give him a stone? 

Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent? 

If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your 
children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven 
give good things to them that ask him! 

Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should 
do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the Law and the 
Prophets. 

And this was the end of the sermon : 

Therefore, whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and 
doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his 
house upon a rock: 

And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds 
blew, and beat upon that house: and it fell not: for it was 
founded upon a rock. 

And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth 
them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his 
house upon the sand: 

And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds 
blew, and beat upon that house ; and it fell : and great was the 
fall of it. 



Story ^ouvkcrx. 



THE CAPTAIN'S SERVANT, THE WIDOW'S 

SON, AND THE WOMAN WHO 

WAS A SINNER, 

Matthew viii : 5 to 13 ; Luke vii : 1 to 17 ; 36 to 50. 




HERE was at Capernaum an officer of the Roman 
army, a man who had under him a company of a 
hundred men. They called him "a centurion," a 
word which means "having a hundred," but we 
should call him "a captain." This man was not a 
Jew, but was what the Jews called "a Gentile," "a foreigner," a 
name which the Jews gave to all people outside of their own race. 
All the world, except the Jews themselves, were Gentiles. 

This Roman centurion was a good man, and he loved the Jews, 
because through them he had heard of God, and had learned how 
to worship God. Out of his love for the Jews he had built for them, 
with his own money, a synagogue, which may have been the very 
synagogue in which Jesus taught on the Sabbath-days. 

The centurion had a young servant, a boy, whom he loved 
greatly ; and this boy was very sick with a palsy, and near to death. 
The centurion had heard that Jesus could cure those who were sick ; 
and he asked the chief men of the synagogue, who were called its 
" elders," to go to Jesus, and ask him to come and cure his young 
servant. 

The elders spoke to Jesus just as he came again to Capernaum, 
after the Sermon on the Mount. They asked Jesus to go with 
them to the centurion's house; and they said, "He is a worthy 
man, and it is fitting that you should help him, for though a 
Gentile, he loves our people, and he has built for us our synagogue." 
Then Jesus said, " I will go and heal him." 
But while he was on his way, and with him were the elders, and 
his disciples, and a great crowd of people, who hoped to see the 

(559) 



;6o 



The Captain's Servant 



work of healing, the centurion sent some other friends to Jesus with 

this message: 

44 Lord, do not take the trouble to come to my house ; for I am 

not worthy that one so high as thou art should come under my roof ; 

and I did 
not think 
that I was 
worthy to go 
and speak to 
thee. But 
speak only a 
word where 
you are, and 
my servant 
shall be 
made well. 
For I also 
am a man 
under rule, 
and I have 
soldiers 
under me, 
and I say 
to one; 
'Go,' and 
he goes ; and 
t o another, 
'Come,' and 
he comes; 
and to my 
servant, 'Do 
this,' and he 
does it. 
You, too, 
Speak the word, and my 




A CENTURION COMES TO JESUS. 



have power to speak and to be obeyed, 
servant will be cured." 

When Jesus heard this he wondered at this man's faith. He 
turned to the people following him, and said, " In truth I say to 
you, I have not found such faith as this in all Israel!" 




THE WOMAN WASHING THE FEET OFJESUS IN THE HOUSE OF SIMON, 
36 



562 The Captain's Servant 

Then he spoke to the friends of the centurion who had brought 
word from him: 

" Go and say to this man, As you have believed in me, so shall 
it be done to you." 

Then those who had been sent went again to the centurion's 
house, and found that in that very hour his servant had been made 
perfectly well. 

On the day after this, Jesus, with his disciples and many people, 
went out from Capernaum, and turned southward, and came to a 
city called Nain. Just as Jesus and his disciples came near to 
the gate of the city they were met by a company who were carrying 
out the body of a dead man to be buried. He was a young man, 
and the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. All the 
people felt sad for this woman who had lost her only son. 

When the Lord Jesus saw the mother in her grief, he pitied her, 
and said, "Do not weep." 

He drew near, and touched the frame on which they were carry- 
ing the body, wrapped round and round with long strips of linen. 
The bearers looked with wonder on this stranger, and set down the 
frame with its body, and stood still. Standing beside the body, 
Jesus said, "Young man, I say to you, Rise up!" 

And in a moment the young man sat Up and began to speak. 
Jesus gave him to his mother, who now saw that her son, who had 
been dead, was alive again. 

A great fear came upon all who had looked upon this wonderful 
work of Jesus. They praised God, and said, " God has indeed come 
to his people, and has given us a great prophet!" 

And the news that Jesus had raised a dead man to life again 
went through all the land. 

While Jesus was on this journey through southern Galilee, at 
one place a Pharisee, whose name was Simon, asked Jesus to come 
and dine at his house. This man did not believe in Jesus, but he 
wanted to watch him, and, if possible, to find some fault in him. 
He did not show Jesus the respect due to a guest, did not welcome 
him, nor did he bring water to wash Jesus' feet, as was done to 
people when they came in from walking. For in that land they 
wore no shoes or stockings, but only sandals, covering the soles of 
their feet; and they often washed their feet when they came into 
the house. 



The Woman Who was a Sinner 563 

At meals they did not sit up around the table, but leaned on 
couches, with their heads toward the table and their feet away from 
it. While Jesus was leaning in this manner upon his couch at the 
table, a woman came into the dining-room, bringing a flask of oint- 
ment, such as was used to anoint people of high rank. She knelt 
down at the feet of Jesus, weeping, and began to wet his feet with 
her tears, and then to wipe them with her long hair. She anointed 
his feet with the ointment, and kissed them over and over again. 

This woman had not been a good woman. She had led a 
wicked life; but by her act she showed that in her heart she was 
truly sorry for her sins. When Simon, the Pharisee, saw her at the 
Saviour's feet he thought within himself, though he did not say it, 
11 If this man were really a prophet coming from God, he would have 
known how wicked this woman is, and he would not have allowed 
her to touch him." 

Jesus knew this man's thought, and he said, "Simon, I have 
something to say to you." 

And Simon said, "Master, say on." 

Then Jesus said, " There was a certain lender of money to whom 
two men were owing. One man owed him five hundred shillings, 
and the other owed him fifty. When he found that they could not 
pay their debts, he freely forgave them, and let them both go free. 
Which of these two will love that man most?" 

"Why," said Simon, 'I suppose that the one to whom he 
forgave the most will love him the most." 

"You are right," said Jesus. Then he turned toward the 
woman, and added, "Do you see this woman? I came into your 
house ; you gave me no water for my feet, but she has wetted my 
feet with her tears, and has wiped them with her hair. You gave 
me no kiss of welcome, but she has not ceased to kiss my feet. You 
did not anoint my head even with oil, but she has anointed my feet 
with ointment. You have acted as though you owed me little, and 
you have loved me little ; but she feels that she owes me much, and 
she loves me greatly. I say to you, ' Her sins, which are many, 
are forgiven.' " 

Then he spoke to the woman, "Your sins are forgiven." 

Those who were around the table whispered to each other, 
"Who is this man that dares to act as God, and even to forgive 
sins?" 



564 Some Stories that Jesus Told by the Sea 

But Jesus said to the woman, " Your faith has saved you; go 
in peace!" 

And Jesus went through all that part of Galilee, preaching and 
teaching in all the villages, telling the people everywhere the good 
news of the kingdom of God. 



Story fifteen. 



SOME STORIES THAT JESUS TOLD BY 

THE SEA. 

Matthew xiii : 1 to 53 ; Mark iv : 1 to 34 ; Luke viii : 4 to 18. 




iFTER Jesus had journeyed through the southern parts 
of Galilee, teaching and healing the sick, he came again 
to Capernaum ; and one day went out of the city to 
a place where the beach rose up gently from the 
water. There he sat in Simon Peter's boat, as he had 
sat before, and spoke to a great crowd of people who stood on 
the beach. 

At this time Jesus began teaching the people by parables ; that 
is, by stories which showed the truths of the gospel. Everybody 
liked to hear a story; and the story would often lead people to 
think, and to find out the truth for themselves. The first of these 
parables or stories that Jesus gave was called "The Parable of the 
Sower." 

" Listen to me," said Jesus. "A sower went out to sow his 
seed. And as he sowed, some seeds fell by the roadside, where the 
ground was hard, where some of the seed was trodden down, and 
other seeds were picked up by the birds. Some of the seed fell 



What the Parable Meant 



565 




where the soil was thin, because rocks were under it. These seeds 
grew up quickly, but when the sun became hot, they were scorched 
and dried up, because they did not have enough soil and moisture 
for their roots. Other seeds fell among briars and thorns, and the 
thorns kept them from growing. And some seeds fell into good 
ground, and brought forth fruit, thirty times as many as were sown, 
sixty times, and 
even a hundred 
times. Whoever 
has ears to hear 
this, let him 
hear!" When 
Jesus was alone 
with his disciples, 
they said to him, 
"Why do you 
speak to the peo- 
ple in parables? 
What does this 
parable about the 
man sowing his 
seeds mean?" 

And Jesus 
said to them, 
"To you it is 
given to k n o w 
the deep things 
of the kingdom 
of God, because 
you seek to find 
them out. But 
to many these 

things are spoken in parables, for they hear the story, but do not 
try to find out what it means. They have eyes, but they do not 
see ; and they have ears, but they do not hear. For they do not 
wish to understand with the heart, and turn to the Lord and have 
their sins forgiven them. But blessed are your eyes, for they see. 
and your ears, for they hear. Listen now to the meaning of the 
parable of the sower. 




566 Some Stories that Jesus Told by the Sea 

"The sower is the one who speaks the word of God; and the 
seed is the word which he speaks. The seed by the roadside are 
those who hear; but the evil one comes, and snatches away the 
truth, so that they forget it. The seed on the rock are those who 
hear the word with joy, but have no root in themselves, and their 
goodness lasts only for a little time. That which is sown among 
the thorns are they w T ho hear, but the cares of the world, and seeking 
after riches and the enjoyments of this life, crowd out the gospel 
from their lives, so that it does them but little good. But that 
which is sown on the good ground are they who take the word into 
an honest and good heart, and keep it, and bring forth fruit in their 
lives." 

Another parable or story given by Jesus to the people was 
' ' The Parable of the Tares : " 

" The kingdom of God is as a man sowing good seed in his field ; 
but while people were asleep, his enemy came and sowed tares, or 
weeds, among the wheat, and then went away. When the shoots 
of grain began to have heads of wheat then the tares were seen 
among them. The servants of the farmer came to him, and said, 
'Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How did the tares 
come into it?' 

" He said to them, 'An enemy has done this.' 

1 ' Shall we go and pick out the tares from among the wheat?' 
asked the servants. 

"No,' answered the farmer, 'for wiiile you are pulling up the 
tares, you will root up also the wheat with them. Let both grow 
together until the harvest ; and in the time of the harvest, I will say 
to the reapers, ' Take out the tares first, and bind them in bundles, 
to be burned ; but gather the wheat into my barn.' " 

Another parable was that of "The Mustard Seed." He said: 

"The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed, which 
a man took and sowed in his field. This is the smallest of all seeds ; 
but it grows up to be a large bush, almost a tree, so that the birds 
of the air light upon its branches and rest under its shadow." 

Another parable was "The Leaven, or Yeast" : 

"The kingdom of heaven is like a little leaven, or yeast, that 
a woman mixed with dough when she was making bread. It 
worked through all the dough and changed it into good, light 
bread." 



The Treasure in the Field 567 

These parables Jesus told to the people as he sat in the boat 
and the people stood on the shore. But he did not tell them what 
the parables meant, for he wished them to think out the meaning 
for themselves. After giving the parables he sent the people away, 
and came back to the house in the city. There his disciples said to 
him, " Tell us the meaning of the parable of the tares growing in the 
field." 

Jesus said to them, "The one who sows the good seed is the 
Son of man; the field is the world; the good seed are those who 
belong to the kingdom of God; but the tares, the weeds, are the 
children of the evil one ; the enemy that sowed them is Satan, the 
devil ; and the reapers are the angels. Just as the tares are gathered 
and burned in the fire, so shall it be in the end of the world. The 
Son of man shall send out his angels, and they shall gather out of 
his kingdom all that do evil and cause harm, and shall cast them 
into a furnace of fire ; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 
But the people of God in that day shall shine as the sun in the king- 
dom of their Father." 

And in the house Jesus gave to his disciples some more para- 
bles for them to think upon. He said : 

"The kingdom of heaven is like treasure which a man found 
hidden in a field. He was glad when he saw it, but hid it again; 
and then went home and sold all that he had and bought that field 
with the treasure in it. 

"The kingdom of heaven is like a merchant who was seeking 
precious pearls. This man found one pearl of great price. He 
went and sold all that he had, and bought the pearl. 

" Once more : the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was cast 
into the sea, and took in fish of all kinds. When it was full, they 
drew the net to the shore. Then they sat down and picked out 
the good fish from among the bad. The good fish they put away 
for safe keeping, but the bad fish they threw away. So shall it be 
at the end of the world. The angels shall come, and shall place the 
wicked apart from the good, and shall cast them into a furnace of 
fire; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth." 



Story Sixteen. 



a 



PEACE, BE STILL." 

Matthew viii : 18 to 34 ; Mark iv : 35, to v : 21 ; Luke viii : 22 to 40. 




,HEN the evening came, after teaching all day by the 
sea and in the house, Jesus saw that the crowds of 
people were still pressing around him, and there was 
no time for him to rest. Jesus said, " Let us go over 
to the other side of the lake." 

So they took Jesus into the boat, and began to row across the 
Sea of Galilee. Other little boats were with them, for many wished 
to go with Jesus. While they were rowing, Jesus fell asleep, resting 
on a cushion of the boat. Suddenly a storm arose, and drove great 
waves of water into the boat, so that it was in danger of sinking, but 
Jesus slept on. The disciples awoke him, saying, ''Master, Master, 
we are lost! Help us, or we shall perish!" 

Jesus awaked, and rose up, and looked out upon the sea. He 
said to the waves, "Peace, be still!" 

And at once the wind ceased, the waves were quiet, and there 
was a great calm. Jesus said to his disciples, " Why are you afraid? 
How is it that you have so little faith in me? " 

They all wondered at Jesus' power, and said to each other, 
" Who is this man whom even the winds and the sea obey ? " 

They came to the land on the eastern side of the lake, which 
was sometimes called "the country of the Gadarenes," from the 
people who lived in the large city of Gardara, which was not far away, 
and sometimes "Decapolis." As they were landing a man came 
running down to meet them. He was one of those poor men in 
whose body evil spirits were living. He would not stay in any 
house, but slept in the graveyard among the dead. Nor did he 
wear any clothes. They had often chained him, but he had broken 
loose from his chains, and no one was able to bind him. 

When this man saw Jesus afar off he ran towards him, and fell 

(568) 



The Man With Evil Spirits 



569 



My name is Legion, because there 



down on his face before him. Jesus saw what was the trouble with 
this man, and he spoke to the evil spirit in him, " Come out of this 
man, vile spirit of evil!" 

The spirit within the man cried with a loud voice, "What have 
I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of the Most High God? I call 
upon thee in the name of the Lord, do not make me to suffer ! ' ' 

Jesus saw that this man was troubled more even than most men 
who had evil spirits in them. He said to the evil one, "What is 
your name?" 

And the spirit said, 
are many of 
us." "A leg- 
ion" was a 
name given to 
an army; and 
in this man 
was a whole 
army of evil 
spirits. There 
was on the 
mountain side 
a great drove 
of hogs feed- 
ing. The Jews 
were not al- 
lowed to keep 
hogs, nor to 
eat their flesh; 

and the evil spirits said to Jesus, "If we must leave this man, will 
you let us go into the drove of hogs?" 

Jesus gave them leave; and the evil spirits went out of the 
man, and went into the hogs. The whole drove, two thousand in 
number, became at once wild. They rushed down a steep place on 
the mountain, and into the sea, and were all drowned. 

The men who kept the hogs ran into the city near by, and told 
all the people how the man had been made well, and what had come 
to the drove of hogs, how they had been drowned. The people 
came out to meet Jesus, and they were full of fear. They saw the 
man who had been filled with evil spirits, now sitting at the feet of 




JESUS ASLEEP IN THE BOAT. 



5?o The Little Girl Who was Raised to Life 

Jesus, no longer naked, but clothed, and in his right mind. But 
they did not think of what Jesus had done to this man ; they thought 
only of the hogs that they had lost ; and they begged Jesus to go 
away from their land. 

Jesus turned away from these people, and went again to the 
boat on the shore ; and then the man who had been set free from 
the evil spirits pleaded with Jesus that he might go with him. But 
Jesus would not take him into the boat. He said: 

" Go home to your friends, and tell them how the Lord has had 
mercy on you, and has done great things for you." 

The man went home and told all the people in the land of 
Decapolis the great things that Jesus had done for him. 

And Jesus went on board the boat, and crossed over the lake, 
and came again to his own city of Capernaum. 



Story Seventeen- 



THE LITTLE GIRL WHO WAS RAISED 

TO LIFE. 

Matthew ix : 18 to 38 ; x : 1 to 42 ; Mark v : 22 to 43 ; Luke viii 

41 to 56 ; ix : 1 to 5. 




HEN Jesus and his disciples landed at Capernaum, 
after their sail across the lake, they found a crowd of 
people on the shore waiting for them. And a man 
came forward from the throng and fell down at the 
feet of Jesus. He was one of the chief men in the 
synagogue, and his name was Jairus. He said: 

"O Master, come to my house at once! My little daughter is 
dying ; but if you will come and lay your hands upon her, she will 
live." 




JESUS RAISING JAIRUS' DAUGHTER TO LIFE, 



572 The Little Girl Who was Raised to Life 



And Jesus went with Jairus, and his disciples followed him, and 
also many people, who thronged around Jesus. In the crowd was 
a poor woman who had been ill for very many years from a sore out 
of which her blood ran, so that she was very weak. Many doctors 
had tried to help her, but they could not ; and she had spent all her 
money, so that she was now very poor. 

This woman had heard of Jesus ; and she tried to come to him, 
but she could not reach him in the throng of people. She said to 
herself, "If I can only touch his garment, I know that the touch 




THE WOMAN TOUCHING THE HEM OF JESUS 7 ROBE. 

will make me well." And as Jesus passed by, she reached out her 
hand and touched the horn of his robe. At that instant she felt in 
her body that she was cured. Jesus himself felt her touch, and 
turning around, said, "Who touched me?" 

Peter said to him, " Master, the crowd throngs around you and 
presses upon you. How can you ask, ' Who touched me? ' " 

But Jesus said, "Some one has touched me; for I feel that 
power has gone out from me." 

And he looked around to see who it was. Then the woman 
came forward, fearing and trembling over what she had done. She 
fell down before Jesus, and told how she had touched him and had 



Jainis' Little Daughter 573 

been made well. But Jesus said to her, "Daughter, be of good 
comfort; your faith has made you well; rise up and go in peace." 

And from that hour the woman was free from her disease. All 
this time, while Jesus was waiting, Jairus, the father of the dying 
child, stood beside Jesus in great trouble, for he feared that his child 
would die before Jesus could come to his house. And at that 
moment some one came to him and said, "It is too late; your 
daughter is dead; you need not trouble the Master any more." 

But Jesus said to him, "Do not be afraid; only believe, and 
she will yet be saved to you." 

Soon they came to the house wiiere Jairus lived; and they 
could hear the people weeping and crying aloud. Jesus said to 
them, " Why do you make such a noise? The little girl is not dead, 
but only asleep." 

Jesus meant by this that we need not be filled with sorrow when 
our friends die, for death is only a sleep for a time until God shall 
awake them. But they did not understand this; and they would 
not be comforted, for they knew that the child was dead. 

Jesus would not allow any of the crowd of people to go into the 
room where the dead child was. He took with him three of his dis- 
ciples, Peter, James, and John, and the father and mother of the 
child, and shut out all the rest of the people. On a couch was lying 
the dead body of a girl, twelve years old. Taking the hand of the 
child into his own, he said to her, " Little girl, rise up!" 

And the life of the little girl came again. She opened her eyes, 
and sat up. Jesus told them to give her something to eat ; and he 
said to them, " Do not tell any one how the little girl was brought 
to life." 

Already the crowds following him were so great that he could 
not teach the people in the city; and if it became known that he 
could raise the dead to life, the throng and the press of the multi- 
tudes w T ould be greater. His great work was to teach and to bring 
life to the souls of men, rather than to heal, or to raise the dead. 

And he went out once more among the villages of Galilee, 
teaching in the synagogues, and healing the sick people who were 
brought to him. He pitied the people, because there was no one 
to give them the gospel; and they were like sheep wandering and 
lost without a shepherd. He said to his disciples : 

"The harvest truly is great, but the workers to gather the 



574 The Little Girl Who was Raised to Life 

harvest are few. Pray to the Lord of the harvest, that he may 
send out reapers into these harvest-fields." 

And after this Jesus sent out his twelve disciples to different 
places to preach in his name to the people. He sent them forth in 
pairs, two of them together, so that they could help each other. 
And he gave them power to heal the sick, and to cast out evil 
spirits from men. He said to them : 

"Go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel; and as you go, 
preach, saying, ' The kingdom of heaven is at hand.' Heal the sick, 
cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out the evil spirits; freely 
you have received, freely give. Do not take any money with you; 
but at every place ask for some good man, and stay at his house. 

" And if any people will not listen to your words, when you go 
out of that house or out of that city, shake off the dust from your 
sandals, as a sign ; and God will judge that house or that city. 

" He that hears you, hears me ; and he that hears me, hears him 
who sent me. And if any one will give to drink to one of these little 
ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, he shall not 
lose his reward." 

The twelve disciples went out in pairs, as Jesus had com- 
manded them, and preached in all the cities of Galilee, that men 
should cease from their sins and turn to God. 




JESUS HEALING THE SICK. 



Story (Eighteen. 



A DANCING GIRL, AND WHAT WAS 
GIVEN HER. 

Matthew xi : 2 to 19 ; xiv : 1 to 12 ; Mark vi : 14 to 29 ; Luke vii 

18 to 35. 




,0U remember that just before Jesus went from Jerusa- 
lem to Galilee, as we read in Story Eight of this Part, 
John the Baptist was put in prison by the king, Herod 
Antipas . Jesus stayed in Galilee for a year, and nearly 
all that time John the Baptist was alone in his prison 
near the Dead Sea. His followers, who were now very few, came 
to see him, and told him of the works that Jesus was doing. These 
were wonderful, but they were not what John had expected Jesus 
to do; and in his prison, with no one to explain what Jesus was 
saying and doing, John began to doubt a little whether Jesus w^ere 
the Saviour who had been promised so long. Then, too, John's 
followers were inclined to feel jealous, because their master was now 
left alone, and all the people were seeking Jesus. John sent two of 
his followers to Jesus, to ask him this question, " Are you really the 
Saviour who is to come, or are we to look for some other as the 
promised Christ?" 

When these men came with this message from John the Baptist 
they found Jesus in the midst of a great company of suffering people. 
They saw him making the sick well by his touch, giving sight to the 
blind, and casting out the evil spirits; and they listened to the 
words of Jesus as he taught the people. 

When his work for the time was done, Jesus turned to the men 
who had come from John, and said to them, " Go and tell John what 
you have seen and heard, how the blind see, the lame walk, the 
lepers are made clean, the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life, and 
the poor have good news preached to them. And blessed is that 
man who believes in me without doubting." 

(575) 



576 A Dancing Girl and What was Given Her 

After these men had gone to bear the words of Jesus to John, 
Jesus spoke to the people about John the Baptist. He said : 

"What was it that you went out into the wilderness to see? 
Was it a reed shaken by the wind? Was it a man dressed in rich 
robes? Those who are clad in splendid garments, and sit at feasts, 
are in the houses of kings. Who was the man whom you went out 
to see ? Was he a prophet of God ? I tell you that he was a prophet, 
and more than a prophet; for he was the one who came to make 
men ready for the coming of the king. And I say to you, that 
among those who are born on the earth, there has never arisen a 
greater man than John the Baptist. Yet he who is the least in the 
kingdom of God is greater than John ; for he can see with his own 
eyes, what John can only hear of from others, the works of the 
gospel." 

All the common people who heard this were glad, for they 
believed that John was a prophet, and they had been baptized by 
him. But the Pharisees and the rulers were not pleased, because 
they had refused to listen to John the Baptist or to be baptized by 
him. 

Not long after this the end came to the noble life of John the 
Baptist. A great feast was held on King Herod's birthday, and all 
the princes and nobles of his kingdom were in the palace, eating and 
drinking together. While they were making merry, the young 
daughter of the woman Herodias, who lived with Herod as his wife, 
came into the supper-room and danced before the guests. Herod 
was so greatly pleased with her dancing that he said to her, "Ask 
whatever you please, and I will give it to you." 

He swore a solemn oath that he would give her whatever she 
might ask, even to the half of his kingdom. The girl went to her 
mother, and said to her, "Tell me, what shall I ask? " 

Her mother told her what to ask, and she came back with haste 
to the king, and said, " I will ask that you give me here upon a plate 
the head of John the Baptist!" 

The king was very sorry that he had made the promise, but he 
was ashamed to break his word in the presence of his princes. He 
sent a man to the prison, with orders that the head of John the 
Baptist should be cut off and brought. It was done; and the 
young girl took it upon a plate, and gave it to her mother Herodias. 

So, as Herod's father, thirty years before, had caused all the 



A King's Rash Promise Kept 



577 



little children of Bethlehem to be killed, as we read in Story Three 
of this Part, this King Herod, the son, caused John the Baptist, one 
of the best of men and a great prophet, to be put to death. 

The followers of John the Baptist went to the prison, and took 
away his body and buried it ; and then they went and told Jesus of 
all that had been done. After this they were among the followers 
of Jesus. 

Herod the king heard of what Jesus was doing, the sick healed, 
the blind made to see, and the dead raised to life. Everybody by 
this time was talking of Jesus and wondering who he was. Some 
said, "This is the prophet Elijah come again to earth." 

Others said, " If he is not Elijah, he is surely one of the prophets 
of the old time who has come to life." 

But Herod said, " I know who this is. It is John the Baptist, 
whom I killed! He has come back to life, and by him all these 
great works are wrought ! ' ' 

And Herod was in great alarm, for he was afraid of the man 
whom he had slain. 




TIBERIAS, ON THE SEA OF GALILEE, WHERE HEROD LIVED. 



37 



Story nineteen. 



THE FEAST BESIDE THE SEA, AND WHAT 
FOLLOWED IT. 

Matthew xiv : 13 to 36 ; Mark vi : 30 to 56 ; Luke ix : 10 to 17 ; 

John vi : 1 to 71. 




HEN the twelve disciples came back to Jesus, after 
preaching in his name among the villages of Galilee, 
they told him of all that they had done, and of what 
they had said to the people. The multitudes seeking 
after Jesus were now greater than ever before, for it 
was again near the time of the Passover, and very many on their 
way to Jerusalem turned aside to see and to hear the great 
Teacher. So many people were coming and going that they could 
scarcely find time even to eat. Jesus said to the twelve: 

" Come with me apart into a quiet place, away from the crowds, 
and let us rest for a time." 

They went into the boat and rowed across the lake to an open 
place, where no one lived, not far from the city of Bethsaida. But 
they could not be alone, for the people saw them going, and watched 
them from the shore, and went on foot around the northern end of 
the lake, and found them. When Jesus saw how eager the crowds 
were to hear him, he took pity on them and taught them, and healed 
such among them as were sick. 

As it began to grow toward evening, the disciples said to Jesus, 
" This is a lonely place, and there is nothing here for such a crowd 
of people to eat. Send them away before it is too late, and tell 
them to go to the towns and get food." 

But Jesus said to them, "They need not go away. You can 
give them food to eat." 

They said to him, " Shall we go into the town and buy two hun- 
dred shillings' worth of bread, so that each one of them may have 
a little?" 

(578) 



What Was Left Over 579 

Jesus turned to Philip, one of his disciples, and said to him, 
" Philip, where shall we find bread, that all these may eat?" 

Jesus said this to try Philip's faith, for he himself knew what he 
would do. Philip looked at the great crowd, full five thousand men, 
besides women and children, and he said, "Two hundred shillings' 
worth of bread would not be enough to give to every one even a 
little piece." 

Just then another of the disciples, Andrew, the brother of Peter, 
said to Jesus, " There is a boy here who has five loaves of barley 
bread and two little fishes ; but what use would they be among so 
many people?" 

Jesus said to the disciples, "Go out among the people, and 
divide them into companies of fifty and a hundred, and tell them 
to sit down in order." 

So the people all sat down ; and upon the green grass, arranged 
in rows and squares in their garments of different colors, they looked 
like beds of flowers. 

Then Jesus took into his hands the five loaves and the two 
fishes which the boy had brought. He looked up to heaven, and 
blessed the food; and broke the loaves and the dried fishes, and 
gave the pieces to the disciples. They went among the companies 
of people, and gave to everyone bread and fish, as much as each 
needed. So they all ate, and had enough. 

Then Jesus said, " Gather up the pieces of food that are left, 
so that nothing may be lost." 

Each of the disciples carried a basket among the people, and 
when they came to Jesus all the twelve baskets were filled with the 
pieces that were left over of the five loaves and the two fishes. 

When the people saw that here was one who could give them 
food, they were ready at once to make Jesus their king, and to break 
away from the rule of the Romans. Jesus was a King, but he 
would not be such a king as they wished. His kingdom w T as to be 
in the hearts of men who loved him, not a kingdom set up by the 
swords of soldiers. He found that his disciples were ready to help 
the people to make him a king, even against his own will. 

So Jesus first compelled his disciples to go on board the boat, 
though they were not willing to do so, and to row across the lake to 
Capernaum. Then he sent away the great crowd of people who 
were still eager that he should be their king. And when all had 



58o 



Feast Beside the Sea 



gone away, and he was left alone, he went up into the mountain to 
pray. While he was praying in the night a great storm arose upon 
the lake, and from the mountain Jesus could see his disciples working 
hard with their oars against the waves, although they could not see 




JESUS BLESSES THE FOOD. 



him. A little after midnight, 

when the storm was the 

highest, Jesus went to his 

disciples, walking upon the 

water, just as though the 

sea was dry land. The men 

in the boat saw a strange figure coming near them upon the sea, 

and cried out with fear, for they thought that it must be a spirit. 

But Jesus called out to them, "Be of good cheer; it is I; be not 

afraid!" And then they knew that it was their Lord. 

Peter spoke to Jesus, and said, "Lord, if it be thou, let me 



Jesus Walking on the Sea 



581 



come to thee, walking upon the water." And Jesus said to Peter, 
"Come." 

Then Simon Peter leaped overboard from the ship, and he, too, 
walked on the water to go to Jesus. But when he saw how great 
was the storm on the sea, he began to be afraid, and forgetting to 

trust in the 
word of Jesus, 
he began to 
sink. He cried 
out, "Lord, 
save me!" 

And Jesus 
reached out 
his hand, and 
caught hold of 
him, and lifted 
him up, saying, 
"O man of lit- 
tle faith, why 
did you doubt 
my word ? ' ' 

When Je- 
sus came on 
board the boat 
with Peter, at 
once the wind 
ceased and the 
sea was calm. 
The disciples 
wo n d e r e d 
greatly as they 
saw the power 

of Jesus. They fell down before him, and said, "In truth thou 
art the Son of God!" When they came to the shore, and the day- 
light arose, they saw that they were at the land of Gennesaret, a 
plain a little to the south of Capernaum. They went ashore ; and as 
soon as the people saw Jesus, and knew who he was, they brought 
their sick to him, and begged that they might only touch the bor- 
der of his garment ; and as many as touched him were made well. 




BE OF GOOD CHEER, IT IS I. 



582 Feast Beside the Sea 

Soon after this Jesus came again to Capernaum, and went into 
the synagogue, which was full of people, some of whom had eaten 
of the five loaves a few days before. These people wished Jesus 
to feed them in the same way again, but Jesus said to them, " Seek 
not for food that passes away, but for the food that gives everlasting 
life, such as the Son of man can give you." 

They said to him, "What sign can you show that God has sent 
you? Moses gave our fathers bread from heaven, the manna in the 
desert. What can you do?" 

You have read of the manna which fed the Israelites in the 
wilderness in Story Twenty-four in Part Second. Then Jesus said 
to them, " It was not Moses, but God, who gave your fathers bread; 
and God gives you now the true bread from heaven, in his Son who 
came down from heaven, to give life to the world." 

As soon as the people found that Jesus would not work wonders 
to please them, they turned away from him and left him, although 
only a few days before they would have made him a king. When 
Jesus saw that the great crowds of people were with him no longer, 
Jesus said to his twelve disciples, "Will you also go away and 
leave me?" 

Then Simon Peter answered him, "Lord, to whom else can 
we go? for thou only hast the words that will give us everlasting 
life." 



5tory CtDenty. 



THE ANSWER TO A MOTHER'S PRAYER 

Matthew xv:2i to 39; Mark vii : 24, to viii : 26. 




FTER the feeding of the five thousand, and the talk 
which followed it in the synagogue of Capernaum, 
Jesus no longer sought to preach to the people in 
crowds, as he had preached before. He had spoken 
his last words to the people of Galilee, and now he 
sought to be alone with his disciples, that he might teach them 
many things which they needed. Jesus knew that in a few 
months, less than a year, he would leave his disciples to carry on 
the work of preaching his gospel to the world. Before that time 
should come Jesus wished to teach and train his disciples; so he 
tried to be apart from the people and alone with these twelve men. 
With this purpose in his mind, Jesus led his disciples away from 
Capernaum, across Galilee westward, to the land of Tyre and Sidon, 
near the Great Sea. On the border of this land he came to a village, 
and in it went with his disciples into a house. Jesus did not wish 
the people of the place to know that he was there ; but he could not 
be hid. 

A woman of that place, who was not of the Jewish race, but 
belonged to the old Canaanite people, heard of Jesus' coming. She 
sought out Jesus, and fell down before him, and begged him to come 
to her house and cure her daughter, in whom was an evil spirit. At 
first Jesus would not answer her, for he had not come to that place 
to do works of healing. But she kept on crying and calling upon 
Jesus to help her daughter, until the disciples said, "Master, send 
this woman away, for she is a trouble to us, crying out after us!" 

They thought that a Gentile woman, one who did not belong 
to the race of Israel, was not worthy of the Lord's care. But Jesus 
wished to teach his disciples that he did care for this woman, though 
she was a Gentile and a stranger. To show them how strong was 

(583) 



584 



The Answer to a Mother's Prayer 



her faith, he said to her, " I am not sent to the Gentiles, but only 
to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." 

But the woman would not be discouraged ; she kept on saying, 
"Lord, help me!" 

Jesus said to her again, " It is not fitting to take the children's 
bread, and throw it to the dogs!" 

Then the woman said, "It is true, Lord; yet the little dogs 
under the table eat of the children's crumbs!" 

And Jesus said to her, " O woman, your faith is great ! It shall 
be done even as you ask. Go your way ; the evil spirit is sent out 
of your daughter." 

The woman believed the ^ _ 

words that ' ^ " .-.- -. . - ^ • 

Jesus spoke. 
She went 
t o 




us 



THE GENTILE WOMAN SEEKS JESUS FOR HELP. 



home, and there found her daughter resting upon the bed, freed 
from the evil spirit. 

So many people sought to see Jesus in that place, that he left 
that land with his disciples, and went around Galilee, and came 
again to the country called Decapolis, on the east of the Sea of Gali- 
lee. You remember that Jesus had visited this country before, 
when he cast the army of evil spirits out of a man into the hogs, as 
we read in Story Sixteen of this Part. At that time the people 
almost drove Jesus away from their land ; but now they were glad 
to see him, and brought their sick to him to be healed. Perhaps 



Seven Loaves and a Few Small Fishes 585 

they had heard from the man out of whom the evil spirits had gone ; 
how kind and good and helpful Jesus was. 

They led to Jesus a man who was deaf, and could not speak 
plainly. He was what we would call "tongue-tied." They asked 
Jesus to cure him ; but Jesus would not do his work as a ^ight for 
men to look upon. He took the man away from the crowd, and 
when he was alone w T ith him he put his fingers into the man's ears 
and touched his tongue. Then he looked up to heaven, and gave 
a sigh, and said to the man, " Be opened! " 

Then the man's ears were opened, and his tongue was set free, 
so that he heard and spoke plainly. Jesus told the man, and those 
with him, not to let others know what he had done ; but they could 
not keep from telling the good news to everybody. They were full 
of wonder, for they had not before seen the works of Jesus; and 
they said, " He has done all things well; he makes even the deaf to 
hear, and the dumb to speak!" 

And in the land of Decapolis, as before in Galilee, great crowds 
of people came to see and hear Jesus. They followed him, without 
thinking that they would need any food to eat ; and Jesus said to 
his disciples, " I feel a pity for this people, for they have now been 
with me three days, and they have nothing to eat. If I send them 
home hungry, they will faint by the way, for many of them came 
from far." 

The disciples answered him, "How can we find bread for such 
a great crowd of people, here in a desert place, so far from the 
villages ? ' ' 

"How many loaves of bread have you?" asked Jesus. They 
said, "We have seven loaves and a few small fishes." 

Then he told all the people to sit down on the ground. When 
they were seated, Jesus took the seven loaves and the fishes, and 
gave thanks to God, and broke them, and gave them to his disciples, 
and they gave them to the people. Then, as before, he caused them 
to gather up the food that was left, and they filled seven large baskets 
with the pieces. At this time four thousand men were fed, besides 
women and children. And at once after the meal, he sent the 
people to their homes, and with his disciples went on board a 
boat, and sailed across the lake to a place on the western shore. 
There he stayed only a short time, and then sailed northward to 
Bethsaida, at the head of the lake, 



586 The Glory of Jesus on the Mountain 

At Bethsaida they brought to him a blind man, and asked him 
to touch his eyes. But Jesus would not heal the man while a crowd 
was looking on. He led the man by his hand out of the village 
alone. Then he spat on the man's eyes, and touched them with his 
hands, and said to him, " Can you see anything? " 

The man looked up, and said, "I see men; but they look like 
trees walking.' * 

Then again Jesus laid his hands upon the man's eyes. He 
looked once more, and now could see all things clearly. Jesus sent 
him to his home, and said to him, " Do not even go into the village, 
nor tell it to any one in the village." 

For Jesus wished not to have crowds of people coming to him, 
but to be alone with his disciples, for he had many things to teach 
them. 



Story ?Etr>erttu=one, 



THE GLORY OF JESUS ON THE 
MOUNTAIN. 

Matthew xvi : 13, to xvii : 23 ; Mark viii : 27, to ix : 32 ; 
Luke ix : 18 to 45. 




'ROM Bethsaida on the Sea of Galilee, Jesus led his dis- 
ciples still further north to Caesarea-philippi, at the 
foot of the great Mount Hermon. The name of this 
place means " Philip's Caesarea;" and it was so called 
because it was under the rule of King Herod Philip, a 
brother of King Herod Antipas, who ruled in Galilee ; and there 
was another Caesarea on the shore of the Great Sea, south of 
Mount Carmel. At Caesarea-philippi, Jesus asked his disciples this 
question, "Who do men say that I, the Son of man, am?" "The 
Son of man" was the name by which Jesus often spoke of himself. 



Jesus Questions His Disciples 5 8 7 

They answered him: 

" Some men say that you are John the Baptist risen from the 
dead; some say that you are the prophet Elijah, or the prophet 
Jeremiah, come again to earth." 

Then said Jesus, " But who do you say that I am?" 

Simon Peter ansVered for them all, saying: 

" Thou art the Anointed One, the Christ, the Son of the living 
God!" 

Jesus said to Peter: 

" Simon, this has come to you not from men, but from my 
Father who is in heaven. You are Peter, the Rock; and on this 
rock I will build my church, and all the powers of earth shall not 
overcome it." 

For the church of Christ is made of those who believe what 
Peter said, that Jesus is the Christ, the Saviour of the world: and 
who obey Jesus as their Lord and King. 

After this Jesus began to tell his disciples what things were to 
come upon him before many months. He said : 

"We are going up to Jerusalem; and there the people will 
refuse to own the Son of man; and he shall suffer many wrongs 
from the rulers, and chief priests ; and shall be killed ; and on the 
third day he shall be raised to life." 

But the disciples could not believe that such sad things would 
come to pass with Jesus. They thought that he would reign as a 
king, and that high places in his kingdom would be given to them- 
selves. Peter took Jesus apart from the rest, and said to him : 

" Master, do not speak of such things. You will not suffer and 
die. You shall be a king!" 

But Jesus saw that under Peter's words was the evil one, 
tempting him, and he said to Peter: 

"Go from me, Satan, evil one! You would be a stumbling- 
block to me, to make me fall! You are seeking not that which 
is of God, but that which is of men!" 

For Jesus knew that while all men wished him to be a king, 
ruling over a kingdom on the earth, it was God's will for him to 
die upon the cross to save the world from sin. Then Jesus called 
the people to come near with his disciples, and he said to them all: 

"If any man will come after me, let him give up his own will, 
and take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever has a will to 



588 The Glory of Jesus on the Mountain 



save his life here, shall lose it hereafter. And whoever is willing 
to give up his life for my sake, shall find it again in the life ever- 
lasting. What gain will it be to a man to have the whole world, and 
to lose his own soul? For the Son of man will come in his glory, 
with all the holy angels, and then he will give to every man accord- 
ing to his acts. And if any man is ashamed to own the Lord now, 
the Lord will not own him in that day!" 

One night, about a week after saying those words, Jesus called 
three of his disciples, Peter, James, and John, and with them 
climbed up the side of Mount Hermon. At a high place on the 




JESUS AND HIS DISCIPLES ON MOUNT HERMON. 

mountain, the three disciples lay down to sleep, but Jesus sought 
his Father in prayer. While Jesus was praying, a great change 
came over him. His face began to shine as bright as the sun, and 
his garments became whiter than snow. The three disciples awoke, 
and saw their Lord with all this glory beaming from him. 

And they saw two men talking with Jesus. These were Moses 
and Elijah, who had come down from heaven to meet Jesus; and 
they spoke with him of the death that he was to die in Jerusalem. 
As these men were passing from the sight of the disciples, Peter 



God's Voice From the Cloud 589 

spoke, scarcely knowing what he was saying, "Master, it is good 
for us to be here ! Let us make here three tabernacles, one for 
thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah!" 

While Peter was speaking a bright and glorious cloud came 
over them all ; and the three disciples felt a great fear as they found 
themselves in the cloud, and no longer able to see their Master. 
Out of the cloud came the voice of God, saying these words : 

"This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye 
him!" 

As the disciples heard this voice they fell upon their faces on 
the ground in great fear. And Jesus came and touched them 
saying, "Rise up, and do not be afraid." 

Then they looked up, and lo, the bright cloud had passed away, 
the two men were no more in sight, and Jesus was standing alone. 
They walked together down the mountain ; and Jesus said to them 
very earnestly: 

" Do not tell to any man what you have seen, until the Son of 
man is risen from the dead." 

They wondered what this "rising from the dead" could mean; 
for even yet they could not believe that Jesus would die. But they 
said nothing to any one, not even to the other disciples, of what they 
had seen upon the mountain. 

When Jesus and the three disciples came down the mountain, 
they found many people around the other nine disciples. As the 
people saw Jesus they were filled with wonder, for some of the glory 
still remained upon his face; and they bowed before him. One 
man came to Jesus, and said : 

"Master, look upon my son, my only child, and have mercy 
upon him; for he is terribly troubled by an evil spirit. At times 
he cannot speak, and then he will cry out suddenly. The spirit 
almost tears him in pieces; and makes him fall into the fire, and 
into the water. He foams at the mouth ; and grinds his teeth, and 
pines away. And I spoke to your disciples, but they could not 
cast out the evil spirit." 

And Jesus said: 

"O ye people without faith, and wandering from God, how 
long must I be with you? how long must I bear with you? Bring 
your child to me." 

While they were bringing the boy to Jesus, the evil spirit in him 



S9° The Glory of Jesus on the Mountain 

threw him down ; and seemed to tear him apart ; and he lay suffer- 
ing and rolling on the ground. Jesus said to the boy's father : 

" How long is it since this came to him? " 

The father said, "Ever since he was a little child; but if you 
can do anything, have mercy on us and help us!" 

" If I can! " said Jesus. " Do you not know that all things are 
possible to the one that believes in me?" 

At once the father of the child cried out, "Lord, I believe! 
Help my lack of faith ! " 

Then Jesus spoke to the evil spirit in the boy : 

" Dumb and deaf spirit, come out of this child, and never again 
enter into him!" 

Then the spirit gave a cry, and came out, and left the child as 
one dead on the ground. Indeed, many who looked at him said, 
"He is dead!" 

But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up ; and the boy 
stood up well, set free from the evil spirit ; and Jesus gave him to his 
father. And all who saw it wondered at the mighty power of the 
Lord. 

When Jesus was in the house, his disciples asked him, "Why 
could not we cast out the evil spirit? " 

And Jesus said to them, " Because you were wanting in faith. 
But this kind of evil spirits can be sent out only through prayer 
and fasting." 

While all were wondering at the great things which Jesus did, 
he said again to his disciples : 

" Let what I say to you sink down into your hearts. The time 
is coming when the Son of man shall be given into the hands of men ; 
and they shall kill him ; and after he is killed, on the third day he 
shall rise again." 

But they could not understand what he meant by these words ; 
and they were afraid to ask him. 



Story Ctr>enty=ttr>o. 



THE LITTLE CHILD IN THE ARMS 

OF JESUS. 

Matthew xvii : 24, to xviii : 35 ; Mark ix : 33 to 48 ; Luke 

ix : 46 to 50. 




'ROM Caesarea-philippi, in the far north, Jesus went with 
his disciples through Galilee, but not, as at other times, 
with a great multitude following him. At this time 
Jesus wished no one to know of his coming, for he had 
already preached to this people, and now he sought 
to be alone with his disciples. They came to Capernaum; and 
while they were there the officer to whom the Jews paid the tax of 
half a shekel, or about thirty cents, for each man, said to Peter, 
" Does not your Master pay the half -shekel? " 

Peter said, "Yes." But when Peter came into the house, 
Jesus said to Peter, " Simon, do the kings of the earth take taxes 
of their own children, or of strangers? " 

Peter said to him, "Of strangers, not of their own children." 
And Jesus said, "Then the children of the King should be free 
from the tax. But that we may not cause trouble, do you go to 
the lake, and cast in a hook, and pull up the first fish that comes ; 
and when you have opened his mouth you shall find in it a piece of 
money. Take that, and pay it to them for you and for me." 

While Jesus Was in the house, he said to his disciples, "What 
was it that you were talking about among yourselves while you 
were on the way?" 

They looked at one another, and said nothing ; for on the way 
they had been disputing as to who of them should have the highest 
places in their Lord's kingdom. Then Jesus said to them, "If any 
one among you wishes to be first, let him be willing to be the last of 
all, and to be a servant of all." 

And Jesus took a little child in his arms, and held him up before 

(591) 



59- 



The Little Child in the Arms of Jesus 



all his disciples, and said to them, " Unless you turn from your 
ways, and become like little children in spirit, you shall not enter 
into the kingdom of heaven. Whoever shall be gentle and lowly and 
willing to be taught, like this little child, he shall be the greatest in 
the kingdom of heaven. And whoever shall receive one such little 

child for my 
sake, he re- 
ceives me. 
Take care not 
to despise one 
of these little 
ones; for I 
say unto you, 
that in heaven 
their angels 
do a 1 w a y s 
look upon the 
face of my 
Father who is 
in heaven. 
For the Son 
of man is 
come to save 
that which 
was lost; and 
it is not the 
will of your 
Father w h o 
is in heaven 
that one of 
these little 

ones should perish." And Peter said to Jesus, "Lord, how many 
times should I forgive a brother when he has sinned again. st me? 
Till seven times?" 

Jesus said to Peter, " I do not say that you should forgive him 
seven times only, but seventy times seven." 

Then Jesus gave to his disciples the parable or story of the 
Unkind Servant: 

"There was once a king who had an account made with his 




JESUS TAKES A LITTLE CHILD IN HIS ARMS. 



The Story of the Unkind Servant 593 

servants of how much money they owed him. One servant was 
brought before the king; and he owed the king a great sum of 
money, ten millions of dollars. The man had nothing with which 
to pay his debt, and the king commanded that the man, and his 
wife, and his children should be sold as slaves for the debt. Then 
the servant fell down before the king, and said, ' Be patient with me ; 
give me time, and I will pay all that I owe ! ' 

" Then the king felt a pity for his servant, set him free, and let 
him go without any payment, giving him all that he owed. 

But that servant went out and found another servant who 
owed him a small sum, only ten dollars. He came to this man, and 
took hold of him by the throat, and said, 'Pay what you owe me!' 
The man fell down before him, and said, ' Have patience with me, 
and I will pay you ! ' He would not wait for the man to earn the 
money, but threw the man in prison, to stay there until he should 
pay the debt. When his fellow-servants heard of what he had done, 
they were sorry for the poor debtor in prison, and came and told the 
king all that had been done. Then the king sent for the servant, 
and said to him, ' You wicked servant, I forgave you all your debt 
when you asked me to give you time. And you should have had 
mercy on your fellow-servant, just as I had mercy on you!' And 
the king was angry against the unkind servant, and sent him to 
prison, and ordered that he should be made to suffer until he should 
pay all his debt. So also shall my heavenly Father do to you, if 
from your hearts you do not forgive your brothers who have sinned 
against you." 



38 



Story Ctr»enty=tf}ree. 



AT THE FEAST OF TABERNACLES. 

Matthew viii : 19 to 22 ; Luke ix : 57 to 62 ; x : 38 to 42 ; xvii : 11 to 
19 ; John vii : 2 to 52. 




N the fall of every year there was held at Jerusalem 
"The Feast of Tabernacles." It was kept to remind 
the people of the time when the Israelites came out of 
Egypt and lived for forty years in the wilderness, more 
than a thousand years before the days when Jesus was 
on the earth. At this feast the people from all parts of the land 
came up to Jerusalem, and worshipped in the Temple. And as the 
Israelites had lived in tents in the wilderness, the people during the 
feast did not sleep in-doors, but made arbors and huts from green 
boughs on the roofs of the houses, and on the hills around the city, 
and slept in them at night. 

Jesus and his disciples went from Galilee to Jerusalem to attend 
this feast. Just as Jesus was leaving, a man who had heard Jesus 
said to him, "Master, I will follow thee wherever thou goest." 

And Jesus said to him, "'The foxes have holes, and the birds of 
the air have nests, but the Son of man has not a place where he can 
lay his head." 

There was another man to whom Jesus had said, " Follow me." 
This man said, " Lord, let me go and bury my father, who is very old 
and must die very soon, and then I will follow thee." 

Jesus said to him, " Let the dead bury their own dead; but do 
you go and preach the kingdom of God." 

And another said, " Lord, I will follow thee; but let me first go 
home and say ' good-bye ' to those who are in my house." 

Jesus said to him, " No man who has put his hand to the plow, 
and looks back, is fit for the kingdom of God." 

On his way to Jerusalem Jesus went through the country of 
Samaria, where the people hated the Jews. In one place the 
Samaritans would not let Jesus and his disciples come into their 

(594) 



Jesus and His Power to Heal 



595 



village, because they saw that they were Jews going up to Jerusa- 
lem. The disciples were very angry at such treatment of their 
Master; and James and John said to him, " Lord, shall we call down 
fire from heaven, to destroy this village, as Elijah the prophet did 
once?" 

But Jesus 
would not al- 
low them to 
do this to their 
enemies. He 
said to them, 
"Your spirit is 
not the spirit 
of my k i n g- 
dom. The Son 
of man has 
not come t o 
destroy men's 
lives, but to 
save them." 

And they 
went to an- 
other village 
to find a rest- 
ing place. At 
one town they 
met outside 
the gate ten 
men with the 
dreadful d i s- 
case of leprosy, 

Of Which We JESUS AT THE HOME OF MARY AND MARTHA. 

read in the 

story of Naaman (Story Thirteen in Part Fourth). These men 
had heard of Jesus and his power to heal; and when they saw 
him they cried out aloud, "Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!" 
Jesus said to them, "Go and show yourselves to the priests." 
If ever a leper became well, he w T ent to the priest, and offered 
a sacrifice, and then was allowed to go to his home. These men 




596 At the Feast of Tabernacles 

obeyed the word of Jesus, believing that he would cure them ; and 
as soon as they started to go to the priests they found that they 
were already well. All but one of the men went on their way, but 
one turned, and came back to Jesus, and fell at his feet, giving 
praise to God; and this man was not a Jew, but a Samaritan. 
Jesus said as he saw him, "Were there not ten cleansed? But 
where are the nine ? Were there none who came back to give glory 
to God, except this stranger?" 

Then he said to the man, "Rise up, and go your way; your 
faith has saved you." 

Jesus came to Jerusalem not on the first day of the feast, but 
in the middle, for the feast was held for a week. He stood in the 
Temple, and taught the people, and all wondered at his words. On 
the last and greatest day of the feast, when they were bringing 
water and pouring it out in the Temple, Jesus cried aloud, " If any 
man thirst, let him come to me and drink! He that believes on me, 
out of him shall flow rivers of living water." 

While Jesus was teaching in Jerusalem he often went out of the 
city to the village of Bethany, on the Mount of Olives. There he 
stayed with the family of Martha, her sister Mary, and their brother 
Lazarus. These were friends of Jesus, and he loved to be with them. 
One day, while Jesus was at the house, Mary sat at the feet of Jesus, 
listening to his words ; but Martha was busy with work, and full of 
cares. Martha came to Jesus, and said, "Master, do you not care 
that my sister has left me to do all the work? Tell her to come and 
help me!" 

But Jesus said to her, "Martha, Martha, you are anxious and 
troubled about many things. Only one thing is needful ; for Mary 
has chosen the good part which shall not be taken away from her. 



Story Ct»enty=four. 



THE MAN WITH CLAY ON HIS FACE 

John ix : i to 41. 




•NE Sabbath-day, as Jesus and his disciples were walk- 
ing in Jerusalem, they met a blind man begging. This 
man in all his life had never seen, for he had been 
born blind. The disciples said to Jesus, as they 
were passing him, " Master, whose fault w r as it that 
this man was born blind? Was it because he has sinned, or did 
his parents sin ? ' ' 

For the Jews thought that when any evil came, it was caused 
by some one's sin. But Jesus said, "This man was born blind, not 
because of his parents' sin, nor because of his own ; but so that God 
might show his power in him. We must do God's work while it is 
day ; for the night is coming wdien no man can work. As long as I 
am in the world, I am the light of the world." 

When Jesus had said this he spat on the ground, and mixed up 
the spittle with earth, making a little lump of clay. This clay Jesus 
spread on the eyes of the blind man, and then he said to him, "Go 
and wash in the pool of Siloam." 

The pool of Siloam was a large cistern or reservoir on the south- 
east of Jerusalem, outside the wall, where the valley of Gihon and 
the valley of the Kedron come together. To go to this pool the 
blind man, with two great blotches of mud on his face, must walk 
through the streets of the city, out of the gate, and into the valley. 
He went, and felt his way down the steps into the pool of Siloam. 
There he washed, and then at once his lifelong blindness passed 
away, and he could see. When the man came back to the part of 
the city where he lived, his neighbors could scarcely believe that 
he was the same man. They said, " Is not this the man who used 
to sit on the street begging?" 

" This must be the same man," said some ; but others said," No, 
it is some one who looks like him." 

(597) 



598 



The Man With Clay on His Face 



But the man said, "lam the very same man who was blind! " 
"Why, how did this come to pass?" they asked him. "How 
were your eyes opened." 

"The man called Jesus," he answered, "mixed clay, and put it 
on my eyes, and said to me, ' Go to the pool of Siloam and wash,' and 
I went and washed, and then I could see." 
" Where is this man? " they asked him. 
"I do not know," said the man. 

Some of the Pharisees, the men who made a show of always 

obeying the 
law, asked the 
man how h e 
had been made 
to see. He 
said to them, 
as he had said 
before, "A 
man put clay 
on my eyes, 
and I washed, 
and m y sight 
came to me." 

Some of 
the Pharisees 
said, "The 
man who did 
this is not a 
man of God, 
because he does not keep the Sabbath. He makes clay, and puts it 
on men's eyes, working on the Sabbath-day. He is a sinner." 

Others said, " How can a man who is a sinner do such wonderful 
works ? " And thus the people were divided in what they thought of 
Jesus. They asked the man who had been blind, "What do you 
think of this man who has opened your eyes? " 
" He is a prophet of God!" said the man. 

But the leading Jews would not believe that this man had 
gained his sight until they had sent for his father and his mother. 
The Jews asked them, " Is this your son, who you say was born 
blind? How is it that he can now see? " 




THE POOL OF SILOAM AS SEEN TO-DAY. 



The Rulers of the Jews Made Angry 599 

His parents were afraid to tell all they knew ; for the Jews had 
agreed that if any man should say that Jesus was the Christ, the 
Saviour, he should be turned out of the synagogue, and not be 
allowed to worship any more with the people. So his parents said 
to the Jews, "We know that this is our son, and we know that he 
was born blind. But how he was made to see we do not know, or 
who has opened his eyes we do not know. He is of age ; ask him, 
and let him speak for himself. ' ' Then again the rulers of the Jews 
called the man who had been blind; and they said to him, "Give 
God the praise for your sight. We know that this man who made 
clay on the Sabbath-day is a sinner." 

"Whether that man is a sinner or not, I do not know," an- 
swered the man; "but one thing I do know, that once I was blind, 
and now I see." They said to him again, "What did this man do 
to you? How did he open your eyes? " 

"I have told you already, and you would not listen," said the 
man. "Why do you wish to hear it again? Do you intend to 
believe in him and be his followers ? ' ' 

This made them very angry, and they said to the man, " You 
are his follower; but we are followers of Moses. We know that God 
spoke to Moses ; but as for this fellow, we do not even know from 
what place he comes!" 

The man said, "Why, that is a very wonderful thing! You 
who are teachers of the people, do not know who this man is, or 
from what place he comes ; and yet he has had power to open my 
eyes! We know that God does not hear sinners; but God hears 
only those who worship him and do his will. Never before has any 
one opened the eyes of a man born blind. If this man "were not 
from God, he could not do such works as these!" 

The rulers of the Jews, these Pharisees, then said to the man, 
" You were born in sin ; and do you try to teach us? " 

And they turned him out of the synagogue, and would not let 
him worship with them. Jesus heard of this; and when Jesus 
found him he said to him, " Do you believe on the Son of God? " 

The man said, "And who is he, Lord, that I may believe on 
him?" "You have seen him," said Jesus, "and it is he who now 
talks with you!" 

The man said, "Lord, I believe." And he fell down before 
Jesus and worshipped him. 



Story £tr>enty=fit>e. 



THE GOOD SHEPHERD AND THE GOOD 

SAMARITAN. 

John x : i to 41 : Luke x : i to 37. 




FTER the cure of the man born blind, Jesus gave to 
the people in Jerusalem the parable or story of " The 
Good Shepherd." 

" Verily, verily (that is, "in truth, in truth"), I 
say to you, if any one does not go into the sheepfold 
by the door, but climbs up some other way, it is a sign that he is a 
thief and a robber. But the one who comes in by the door is a shep- 
herd of the sheep. The porter opens the door to him, and the sheep 
know him, and listen to his call, for he calls his own sheep by name 
and leads them out to the pasture-field. And when he has led out 
his sheep, he goes in front of them, and the sheep follow him, for 
they know his voice. The sheep will not follow a stranger, for they 
do not know the stranger's voice." 

The people did not understand what all this meant, and as 
Jesus explained it to them. He said : 

"Verily, verily, I say to you, I am the door that leads to the 
sheepfold. If any one comes to the sheep in any other way than 
through me and in my name, he is a thief and a robber ; but those 
who are the true sheep will not hear such. I am the door ; if any 
man goes into the fold through me, he shall be saved, and shall go 
in and go out, and shall find pasture. 

"The thief comes to the fold that he may steal, and rob the 
sheep and kill them ; but I come to the fold that they may have life, 
and may have all that they need. I am the good shepherd; the 
good shepherd will give up his own life to save his sheep ; and I will 
give up my life that my sheep may be saved. 

"I am the good shepherd; and just as a true shepherd knows 
all the sheep in his flock, so I know my own, and my own know 

(600) 




THE GOOD SAMARITAN AIDING THE MAN WHO HAD BEEN ROBBED 



Jesus Sends Out Seventy Disciples 601 

me, even as I know the Father, and the Father knows me; and I 
lay down my life for the sheep. And other sheep I have, which are 
not of this fold; them also I must lead, and they shall hear my 
voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd." 

The Jews could not understand these words of Jesus ; but they 
became very angry with him, because he spoke of God as his Father 
They took up stones to throw them at him, and tried to seize him, 
intending to kill him. But Jesus escaped from their hands, and 
went away to the land beyond Jordan, at the place called Bethabara, 
or "Bethany beyond Jordan," the same place where he had been 
baptized by John the Baptist more than two years before, as we 
read in Story Five of this Part. From this place Jesus wished to 
go out through the land on the east of the Jordan, a land which was 
called "Perea," a word that means " beyond." But before going 
out himself through this land, Jesus sent out seventy chosen men 
from among his followers to go to all the villages, and to make the 
people ready for his own coming afterward. He gave to these 
seventy the same commands that he had given to the twelve dis- 
ciples, when he sent them through Galilee, of which we read in Story 
Seventeen, and sent them out in pairs, two men to travel and to 
preach together. He said : 

"I send you forth as lambs among wolves. Carry no purse, 
no bag for food, no shoes except those that you are wearing. Do not 
stop to talk with people by the way ; but go through the towns and 
the villages, healing the sick, and preaching to the people, 'The 
kingdom of God is coming.' He that hears you, hears me; and he 
that refuses you, refuses me ; and he that will not hear me, will not 
hear him that sent me." 

And after a time the seventy men came again to Jesus, saying, 
" Lord, even the evil spirits obey our words in thy name!" 

And Jesus said to them, "I saw Satan, the king of the evil 
spirits, falling down like lightning from heaven. I have given you 
power to tread upon serpents and scorpions ; and nothing shall harm 
you. Still, do not rejoice because the evil spirits obey you; but 
rejoice that your names are written in heaven." And at that time, 
one of the scribes, — men who wrote copies of the books of the Old 
Testament, and studied them, and taught them, — came to Jesus 
and asked him a question, to see what answer he would give. He 
said, " Master, what shall I do to have everlasting life? " 



6o2 The Good Shepherd, and Good Samaritan 



Jesus said to the scribe, " What is written in the law? You are 
a reader of God's law; tell me what it says?" 

Then the man gave this answer, "Thou shalt love the Lord thy 
God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy 
strength, and with all thy mind ; and thou shalt love thy neighbor 

as thyself." 

Jesus said to 
the man, "You 
have answered 
right; do this, 
and you shall 
have everlasting 
life." 

But the man 
was not satisfied. 
He asked another 
question, "And 
who is my neigh- 
bor?" 

To answer 
this question, 
Jesus gave the 
parable or story 
of "The Good 
Samaritan." He 
said, "A certain 
man was going 
down the lonely 
road from Jeru- 
salem to Jericho; 
and he fell among 
robbers, who 
stripped him of all that he had, and beat him ; and then went away, 
leaving him almost dead. It happened that a certain priest was 
going down that road ; and when he saw the man lying there, he 
passed by on the other side. And a Levite also, when he came to the 
place, and saw the man, he, too, went by on the other side. But a 
certain Samaritan, as he was going down, came where this man was ; 
and as soon as he saw him he felt a pity for him. He came to the 




THE GOOD SHEPHERD. 



Jesus Going to Bethany 603 

man, and dressed his wounds, pouring oil and wine into them. Then 
he lifted him up, and set him on his own beast of burden, and walked 
beside him to an inn. There he took care of him all night ; and the 
next morning he took out from his purse two shillings, and gave 
them to the keeper of the inn, and said, " Take care of him; and if 
you need to spend more than this, do so ; and when I come again I 
will pay it to you." 

" Which one of these three do you think showed himself a 
neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers? " 

The scribe said, "The one who showed mercy on him." 
Then Jesus said to him, " Go and do thou likewise." 
By this parable Jesus showed that "our neighbor" is the one 
who needs the help that we can give him, whoever he may be. 



Story CtDcnty six. 



LAZARUS RAISED TO LIFE, 

John xi: 1 to 55. 




iHILE Jesus was at Bethabara beyond Jordan, and ready 
to begin preaching in the land of Perea, he was sud- 
denly called back to the village of Bethany, on the 
Mount of Olives, near Jerusalem. You remember, 
from Story Twenty-three, that Martha, and Marv, 
and Lazarus, the friends of Jesus, were living in this place. 

The word came to Jesus that Lazarus was very ill. But Jesus 
did not hurry away from Bethabara to go to Bethany. He stayed 
two days, and then he said to his disciples, " Let us go again into 
Judea, near Jerusalem." 

The disciples said to Jesus, "Master, when we were in Judea 



604 



Lazarus Raised to Life 



last the people tried to stone you and to kill you ; and now would 

you go there again?" 

Jesus said, " Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep ; but I go that 

I may awake him out of his sleep." The disciples said, "Master, 

if he has fallen 
asleep, he may 
be well." 

For they 
thought that 
Jesus was 
speaking of 
taking rest in 
sleep; but 
Jesus meant 
that Laza- 
rus was dead. 
Then Jesus 
said to them, 
''Lazarus is 
dead ; and I 
am glad that 
I was not 
there to keep 
him alive ; for 
now you will 
be led to be- 
1 i e v e in rne 
all the more 
fully. But 
let us now go 
to him." 

Then one 
of the disci- 
ples, named 

Thomas, said to the others, " Let us also go, and die with our Master !" 
So Jesus left Bethabara with his disciples, and came to Bethany ; 

and then he found Lazarus had been buried four days. Many of the 

Jews had come to comfort Martha and Mary in the loss of their 

brother. They told Martha that Jesus was coming, and she went 




LAZARUS COMES TO LIFE AGAIN'. 



Jesus Wept with Mary and Martha 605 

to meet him, but Mary sat still in the house. As soon as Martha 
saw Jesus, she said to him very sadly, " Lord, if you had been here, 
my brother need not have died. And even now, I know that God 
will give you whatever you may ask." 

Jesus said to her, " Your brother shall rise again." 

"I know that he shall rise," said Martha, "when the last day 
comes, and .all the dead are raised." 

Jesus said to her, " I am the resurrection, the raising from the 
dead ; and I am the life. Whoever believes on me, even though he 
may die, he shall live ; and whoever lives and believes on me shall 
never die. Do you believe this?" 

She said to him, " Yes, Lord, I believe that thou art the Christ, 
the Son of God, the one who comes into the world." 

Then Martha went to her home, and said to her sister Mary, but 
quietly, so that no other person heard her, " The Master is here, and 
he asks for you!" 

At once Mary rose up to go to Jesus. Her friends thought that 
she was going to her brother's tomb, and they went with her. Jesus 
was still at the place where Martha had met him, near the village. 
When Mary came to him, she fell down at his feet, and said, as her 
sister had said. "Lord, if you had been here, my brother need not 
have died!" 

When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews weeping with her, 
he also was touched, and groaned in his spirit, and was filled with 
sorrow. He said, "Where have you laid him?" 

They showed him the place where Lazarus was buried, a cave, 
with a stone laid upon the door. Jesus wept as he stood near it, and 
the Jews said, "See how he loved Lazarus!" 

But some of them said, "If this man could open the eyes of the 
blind, why is it that he could not keep this man whom he loved from 
dying?" 

Jesus, standing before the cave, and still groaning within, said, 
" Take away the stone ! ' ' 

Martha said, " Lord, by this time his body has begun to decay, 
for he has been dead four days." 

Jesus said to her, "Did I not say to you that if you would 
believe, you should see the glory of God? " 

They took away the stone, as Jesus had commanded. Then 
Jesus lifted up his eyes toward heaven, and said : 



606 Lazarus Raised to Life 

" Father, I thank thee that thou didst hear me. I know that 
thou dost hear me always ; but because of those who are standing 
here I spoke, so that they may believe that thou hast sent me." 

Then, with a loud voice, Jesus called out, "Lazarus, come 
forth!" 

And the man who had been four days dead came out of the 
tomb. His body, and hands, and feet were wrapped round and 
round with grave bands, and over his face was bound a napkin. 

Jesus said to those standing near. " Loose him, and let him go! " 

When they saw the wonderful power of Jesus in raising Lazarus 
to life many of the people believed in Jesus. But others went away 
and told the Pharisees and rulers what Jesus had done. They 
called a meeting of all the rulers, the great council of the Jews, and 
they said, "What shall we do, for this man is doing many works of 
wonder? If we let him alone everybody will believe on him, and 
will try to make him the king ; and then the Romans will make war 
upon us and destroy our nation and our people." 

But the high-priest Caiphas said, "It is better for us that one 
man should die for the people than that our whole nation should be 
destroyed. Let us put this man to death." 

And to this they agreed, and from that day all the rulers 
found plans to have Jesus slain. But Jesus knew their purpose, for 
he knew all things. His time to die had not yet come, and he went 
away with his disciples to a city near the wilderness and not far from 
Bethabara, where he had been before. And from this place he went 
forth to preach in the land of Perea, into which he had sent the 
seventy disciples, as we read in the last story. 



Story Ctoenty =set>en. 



SOME PARABLES IN PEREA. 

Luke xii: i, to xv : 32 




ESUS went with his disciples through the land of 
Perea, on the east of the Jordan, the only part of 
the Israelite country that he had not already visited. 
The people had heard of Jesus from the seventy dis- 
ciples whom he had sent through the land, as we read 
in Story Twenty-five, and in every place great multitudes of people 
came to see him and to hear him. At one time, one man called 
out of the crowd, and said to Jesus : 

"Master, speak to my brother, and tell him to give me my 
share of what our father left us ! " 

Jesus said: 

" Man, who made me a judge over you, to settle your disputes? 
Let both of you, and all of you, take care and keep from being 
covetous, seeking what is not yours. " 

Then Jesus gave to the people the parable or story of "The 
Rich Fool." He said: 

"There was a rich farmer whose fields brought great harvests, 
until the rich man said to himself : 

1 ' What shall I do ? for I have no place where I can store up 
the fruits of my fields. This is what I will do. I will pull down 
my barns, and will build larger ones ; and there I will store all my 
grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, "Soul, you have 
goods laid up enough to last for many years ; take your ease, eat, 
drink, and be merry.'" 

" But God said to the rich man, ' Thou foolish one ; this night 
thou shalt die, and thy soul shall be taken away from thee. And 
the things which thou hast laid up ; whose shall they be? ' " 

And Jesus said, "Such is the man who lays up treasure for 
himself, and is not rich toward God." 

On one Sabbath-day, Jesus was teaching in a synagogue. And 

(607) 



6o8 



Some Parables in Perea 



a woman came in who for eighteen years had been bent forward, 

and could not stand up straight. When Jesus saw her, he called 

her, and said to her: 

" Woman, you are set free from your trouble of body." 

He laid his hands upon her; and she stood up straight, and 

praised God for his mercy. But the chief man in the synagogue 




THE SHEPHERD GOES AFTER THE LOST SHEEP. 



was not pleased to see Jesus healing on the Sabbath. He spoke to 
the people, and said: 

"There are six days when men ought to work; in them, you 
should come and be healed, and not on the Sabbath-day." 

But Jesus said to him and to the others : 

" Does not each one of you on the Sabbath-day loose his ox or 
his ass from the stall, and lead him away to give him water? And 
should not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, who has been 



Jesus is Invited to a Dinner 



609 



bound for eighteen years, be set free from her bonds on the Sabbath- 
day?" 

And the enemies of Jesus could say nothing; while all the 
people were glad at the glorious works which he did. 

At one place Jesus 
was invited to a din- 
ner. He said to the 
one who had invited 
him: 

" When you make 
a dinner or a supper, 
do not invite your 
friends, or your rich 
neighbors ; for they 
will invite you in re- 
turn. But when you 
make a feast, invite 
the poor, the helpless, 
the la me and the 
blind; for they can- 
not invite you again ; 
but God will give you 
a reward in his own 
time." 

And there went 
with Jesus great mul- 
titudes of people ; and 
he turned, and said 
to them : 

"If any man 
comes after me, he 
must love me more 

than he loves his own father, and his mother, and wife and children, 
yes, and his own life also ; or else he cannot be my disciple. 

"For who of you, wishing to build a tower, does not first sit 
down and count the cost, whether he will be able to finish. For if 
after he has laid the foundation, and then leaves it unfinished, every 
one who passes by will laugh at him, and say, ' This man began 
to build, and was not able to finish. ' 




THE LOST PIECE OF SILVER. 



39 



610 Some Parables in Perea 

" Or what king going out to meet another king in war, will not 
sit down first, and find whether he is able with ten thousand men 
to meet the one who comes against him with twenty thousand? 
And if he finds that he cannot meet him, while he is yet a great way 
off, he sends his messengers and asks for peace. 

" Even so, every one of you must give up all that he has, if he 
would be my disciple." 

While Jesus was teaching, many of the publicans, those who 
took up the taxes from the people, came to hear him; and many 
others who were called "sinners" by the Pharisees and the Scribes. 
The enemies of Jesus said : 

"This man likes to have sinners come to see him, and he eats 
with them." 

Then Jesus spoke a parable called "The Lost Sheep," to show 
why he was willing to talk with sinners. He said : 

"What man of you, who has a hundred sheep; if one of them 
is lost, does not leave his ninety and nine sheep in the field, and go 
after the one that is lost until he finds it ? And when he has found 
it, he lays it on his shoulders, glad to see his lost sheep again. And 
when he comes home he calls together his friends and neighbors, and 
says to them: 

" ' Be glad with me; for I have found my sheep that was lost!' 

''Even so," said Jesus, "there is joy in heaven over one sinner 
who has turned to God, more than over ninety and nine good men, 
who do not need to turn from their sins." 

Jesus gave to the people also the parable of "The Lost Piece 
of Money." He said: 

"If any woman has ten pieces of silver, and loses one piece, 
will she not light a lamp, and sweep her house carefully until she 
finds it ? And when she has found it, she calls together her friends 
and her neighbors, saying: 

" ' Be glad with me ; for I have found the piece of silver that I 
had lost.' 

" Even so, there is joy among the angels of God over one sinner 
that turns from his sins." 

Then Jesus told another parable, that one called "The 
Parable of the Prodigal Son." A prodigal is one who spends 
everything that he has, as did the young man in this parable. 
Jesus said, "There was once a man who had two sons. The 
younger of his sons said to his father : 



Story of the Prodigal Son 



611 



" ' Father, give to me the share that will come to me, of what 

you own/ 

"Then the father divided all that he had between his two sons; 

and not many days after the younger son took his share, and went 

away into a far 
country; and 
there he wasted it 
all in wild and 
wicked living. 
And when he had 
spent all there 
arose a mighty 
famine of food in 
that country ; and 
he began to be in 
want. 

"And he went 
to work for one 
of the men in that 
land ; and this 
man sent him into 
the fields to feed 
his hogs. And 
the young man 
was so hungry 




THE FATHER FELL ON HIS SONS NECK. 



that he would have filled himself with the husks that were fed 
to the hogs; and no one gave anything to him. At last the 
young man began to think of his father's house; and he said to 
himself : 



612 Some Parables in Perea 

" ' How many hired servants of my father's have bread enough 
and to spare, while I am dying here with hunger! I will arise, and 
will go to my father, and will say to him, ''Father, I have sinned 
against heaven and in your sight. I am no more worthy to be 
called your son ; let me be one of your hired servants." ' 

"And he rose up, to go back to his father's house. But while 
he was yet afar off, his father saw him, and ran, and fell on his 
neck, and kissed him. And the son said unto him : 

"'Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight. I 
am no more worthy to be called your son — ' 

" But before he could say any more, his father called to the 
servants, and said: 

'"Bring out quickly the best robe, and put it on him; and 
put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet; and bring the 
fatted calf, and kill it, and let us eat and make merry ; for this my 
son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.' Now 
his elder son was in the" field; and as he came and drew nigh to 
the house, he heard music and dancing. And he called to him 
one of the servants, and asked what these things might be. And 
the servant said to him: 

" ' Your brother has come ; and your father has killed the fatted 
calf, and is having a feast, because he is at home safe and sound.' 

"But the elder brother was angry, and would not go in; and 
his father came out and urged him. But he answered his father, 
and said: 

'"I have served you for these many years; and I have never 
disobeyed your commands ; and yet you never gave me even a kid, 
that I might make merry with my friends. But when this your 
son has come, who has wasted your living with wicked -people, you 
killed for him the fatted calf ! ' 

"And the father said to him: 

" ' My son, you are always with me, and all that I have is yours. 
But it was fitting that we should make merry and be glad ; for this 
your brother was dead, and is alive again ; he was lost and is found. 

By these parables Jesus showed that he came not to seek those 
who thought themselves so good that they did not need him; but 
those who were the sinful and the needy. 



Story Ctr>enty=etc}f}t 



THE POOR RICH MAN, AND THE RICH 

POOR MAN. 

Luke xvi : i to 31, to xviii : 1 to 34 ; Matthew xix : 13 to 30 ; xx : 17 
to 19 ; Mark x : 13 to 34. 




NOTHER parable that Jesus gave was that of "The 
Rich Man and Lazarus." He said: 

"There was a rich man; and he was dressed in 
garments of purple and fine linen, living every day 
in splendor. And at the gate leading to his house 
was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores, and seeking 
for his food the crumbs that fell from the rich man's table. Even 
the dogs of the street came and licked his sores. 

"After a time the beggar died, and his soul was carried by the 
angels into Abraham's bosom. The rich man also died, and his 
body was buried. And in the world of the dead he lifted up his eyes, 
being in misery ; and far away he saw Abraham, and Lazarus resting 
in his bosom. And he cried out and said, ' Father Abraham, have 
mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger 
in water and cool my tongue, for I am suffering in this flame ! ' 

" But Abraham said, 'Son, remember that you had your good 
things in your lifetime, and that Lazarus had his evil things; but 
now here he is comforted and you are in sufferings. And besides all 
this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that no one 
may cross over from us to you, and none can come from your place 
to us." 

"And he said, 'I pray, O father Abraham, if Lazarus cannot 
come to me, command that he be sent to my father's house, for I 
have five brothers, and let him speak to them, so that they will not 
come to this place of torment.' 

"But Abraham said, 'They have Moses and the prophets; let 
them hear them ! ' 

(613) 



6i 4 The Poor Rich Man, the Rich Poor Man 



"And he said, O father Abraham, if one should go to them 

from the dead, they will turn to God.' 

"And Abraham said, 'If they will not hear Moses and the 

prophets, they will not believe, even though one should rise from 

the dead!'" " 

And this was true, for as the people would not listen to the words 

of Moses and 
the prophets 
about Christ, 
they would 
not believe, 
even after Je- 
sus himself 
arose from the 
dead. There 
was another 
parable of Je- 
sus, called 
"The Unjust 
Steward." 

"A cer- 
tain rich man 
had a steward, 
a man who 
took the care 
of all his pos- 
sessions. He 
heard that his 
steward was 
wasting his 
property; and 

THE UNJUST STEWARD. he Sent fOT 

him, and said, 
'What is this that I hear about you? You shall soon give up 
your place, and be my steward no longer.' 

"Then the steward said to himself, Tn a few days I shall lose 
my place ; and what shall I do ? I cannot work in the fields, and 
I am ashamed to go begging from door to door. But I have 
thought of a plan that will give me friends, so that when I am put 




The Story of the Unjust Judge 615 

out of my place, some people will take me into their houses, because 
of what I have done for them.* 

"And this was his plan. He sent for the men who were in debt 
to his master, and said to the first one, 'How much do you owe to 
my master?' 

" The man said, 'I owe him a thousand gallons of oil.' 

"Then said the steward, 'You need only pay five hundred 
gallons.' Then to another he said, 'How much do you owe?' 

" The man answered, ' I owe fifteen hundred bushels of wheat.' 
And the steward said to him, ' You need pay only twelve hundred 
bushels.' 

" When his master heard of this which his steward had done, he 
said, ■ That is a sharp, shrewd man, who takes care of himself.' " 

And Jesus said, "Be as earnest and as thoughtful for the 
eternal life as men are for this present life." 

Jesus did not approve the actions of this unjust steward, but 
he told his disciples to learn some good lessons even from his wrong 
deeds. 

Jesus spoke another parable to show that people should pray 
always, and not be discouraged. It was the parable of " The Unjust 
Judge and the Widow." Jesus said: 

"There was in a city a judge who did not fear God, nor seek to 
do right ; nor did he care for man. And there was a poor widow in 
that city who had suffered wrong. She came to him over and over 
again, crying out, ' Do justice for me against my enemy who has done 
me wrong!' 

" And for a time the judge, because he did not care for the right, 
would do nothing. But as the widow kept on crying, at last he said 
to himself, ' Even though I do not fear God nor care for man, yet 
because this widow troubles me and will not be still, I will give her 
justice, or else she will wear me out by her continual crying.' 

And the Lord said, "Hear what this unjust judge says! And 
will not a just God do right for his own who cry to him by day and 
night, even though he may seem to wait long? I tell you that he 
will answer their prayer, and will answer it soon ! " 

And Jesus spoke another parable to some who thought that 
they were righteous and holy, and set others at nought. This was 
the parable of "The Pharisee and the Publican." 

" Two men went up into the Temple to pray, the one a Pharisee, 



616 The Poor Rich Man, the Rich Poor Man 



the other a publican. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with 
himself, ' God, I thank thee that I am not as other men are. I do 
not rob, I do not deal unjustly. I am free from wickedness. I am 
not even like this publican. I fast twice in each week. I give to 

God one-tenth 
of all that I 
have.' But 
the publican 
standing afar 
off, would not 
lift up so 
much as his 
eyes unto 
heaven 
beat 
breast, 
ing, ' God 
merciful 




but 
his 
s ay- 
be 
to 



me, 



a sinner!' 
'I sayun- 
you," said Jesus, "this 
man went down to his 
house having his sins for- 
given rather than the other. 
For every one that lifteth 
up himself shall be brought 
low ; and he that is humble 
shall be lifted up." 

And at this time the 
mothers brought to Jesus 
their little children, that he 
might lay his hands on them 
the Pharisee and the publican. and bless them. The disci- 

ples were not pleased at this, 
and told them to take their children away. But Jesus called them to 
him, and said, " Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid 
them not, for of such is the kingdom of God. Whoever shall not 
receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter into 
it." And he put his hands on them and blessed them. And a 



The Young Man Turns Away 617 

certain young man, a ruler, came running to Jesus, and said, " Good 
Master, what shall I do that I may have everlasting life?" 

"Why do you call me good?" said Jesus. "No one is good 
except one, that is God. You know the commandments; keep 
them." 

" What commandments? ' ' asked the young man. 

"Do not kill; do not commit adultery; do not steal; do not 
bear false witness ; honor thy father and mother." 

The young man said, " All these I have kept from my youth up. 
What do I need more than these ? ' ' 

' ' One thing more you need to do, " said Jesus. " Go sell all that 
you have, and give to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven 
Then come and follow me." 

But when he heard this he turned and went away very sad, for 
he was very rich. And when Jesus saw this, he said, " How hard it is 
for those that are rich to enter into the kingdom of God! It is 
easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich 
man to enter into the kingdom of God." 

At this the disciples were filled with wonder. They said, " If 
that be so, then who can be saved? " 

And Jesus said, "The things that are impossible with men are 
possible with God." 

And Peter said, " Lord, we have left our homes and all that we 
have, and have followed thee." 

And Jesus answered him, "Verily, I say to you, there is no man 
who has left house, or wife, or brothers, or parents, or children, for 
the sake of the kingdom of God, who shall not have given to him 
many more times in this life, and in the world to come life everlast- 
ing." 

Then Jesus again told his twelve disciples of what was soon to 
come to pass, even in a few weeks. He said, "We are going up to 
Jerusalem, and there all the things written by the prophets about 
the Son of man shall come true. He shall be made a prisoner, and 
shall be mocked, and treated shamefully, and shall be spit upon, and 
beaten, and shall be killed; and then the third day he shall rise 
again." 

But they could not understand these things, and they did net 
believe that their Master was to die. 



Story Cn?enty=nine. 



JESUS AT JERICHO. 

Matthew xx : 20 to 34 ; Mark x : 35 to 52 ; Luke xviii ; 35, 

to xix : 28. 




ESUS was passing through the land of Perea on his 
way to Jerusalem. His disciples were with him, and 
a great multitude of people, for again the feast of the 
Passover was near, and the people from all parts of 
the land were going up to Jerusalem to take part in 
the feast; and although Jesus had said, over and over again, that 
he was to die in Jerusalem, still many believed that in Jerusalem 
he would make himself king and would reign over all the land. 

On one day James and John, two of the disciples of Jesus, who 
were brothers, the sons of Zebedee, came to Jesus with their mother. 
She knelt before Jesus, and her two sons knelt beside her. Jesus 
said to her, " What is it that you would ask of me? ' ' 

She said to him, " Lord, grant to me that my two sons may be 
allowed to sit beside thy throne, one on the right hand, the other on 
thy left, in thy kingdom." 

' ' You do not know what you are asking, ' ' answered Jesus. ■' ' Are 
you able to drink of the cup that I am about to drink? " 

By "the 'cup" he meant the suffering that he was soon to 
endure; but this they did not understand; and they said to him, 
"We are able." 

He said to them, "My cup indeed you shall drink; but to sit 
on my right hand and on my left is not mine to give, but it shall be 
given to those for whom God has made it ready. ' ' 

When the other disciples heard that James and John had tried 
to get the promise of the highest places in the Lord's kingdom, they 
were very angry against these two brothers. But Jesus called them 
to him, and he said, " You know that the rulers of nations lord it 
over them ; and their great ones are those who bear rule. But not 

(6*8) 



The Blind Man at Jericho 



619 



so shall it be among you. For whoever among you would be great, 
let him serve the rest. For the Son of man himself did not come to 
be served, but to serve others ; and to give up his life that he might 
save many." Jesus with his disciples and a great multitude drew 

nigh to Jericho, which was 
at the foot of the moun- 
tains, near the head of the 
Dead Sea. Just outside the 
city, at the gate, was sitting 
a blind man begging. His 




BLIND BARTIMEUS. 



name was Bartimeus, which means "the son of Timeus." This 
man heard the noise of a crowd, and he asked what it meant. 
They said to him, " Jesus of Nazareth is passing by." As soon as 
he heard this he began to cry out aloud, "Jesus, son of David, have 
mercy on me!" 



620 Jesus at Jericho 

Many people told him not to make so great a noise, but he cried 
all the louder, "Jesus, son of David, have mercy on me!" 

Jesus heard his cry, and stood still, and said, "Call the man 
to me!" 

Then they came to the blind man and said, " Be of good cheer; 
rise up; he calls you!" 

The blind man sprung up from the ground and threw away his 
garment, and came to Jesus. And Jesus said to him, "What do 
you wish me to do to you?" 

"Lord, that I might have my sight given to me," answered 
blind Bartimeus. 

Then Jesus touched his eyes, and said, "Go your way; your 
faith has made you well." 

Then immediately sight came to his eyes, and he followed Jesus, 
while all the people who saw it gave thanks to God. 

There was another man in Jericho who had heard of Jesus, and 
greatly longed to see him. This was a man named Zaccheus. He 
was a chief man among the publicans, the men who gathered the 
taxes from the people, and whom all the people hated greatly. 
Zaccheus was a rich man, for many of the publicans made great 
gains. Wishing to see Jesus, and being little in size, Zaccheus ran 
on before the crowd, and climbed up into a sycamore-tree by the 
road, so that he might see Jesus as he passed by. 

When Jesus came to the tree he stopped, and looked up, and 
called Zaccheus by name, saying, "Zaccheus, make haste and come 
down, for to-day I must stop in your house." 

At this Zaccheus was glad. He came down at once, and took 
Jesus into his house. But at this many of the people found fault. 
They said, " He has gone in to lodge with a man who is a sinner! " 

Because he was a publican, they counted him as a sinner. But 
Zaccheus stood before the Lord, and said, "Lord, the half of my 
goods I give to the poor; and if I have wrongly taken anything 
from any man, I give him four times as much." 

And Jesus said, "To-day salvation has come to this house; for 
this man also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of man came to 
seek and to save that which was lost." 

Jesus was now drawing nigh to Jerusalem, and all the people 
were expecting the kingdom of God to begin at once, with Jesus as 
its King. On this account, Jesus gave to the people "The Parable 



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622 Jesus at Jericho 

of the Pounds,' ' saying, "A certain nobleman went to a far country, 
expecting there to be made a king, and thence to return to his own 
land. Before going away he called ten servants of his, and gave to 
each one a pound of money, and said to them, ' Take care of this 
and trade with it until I come back.' 

" But the people of his own land hated this nobleman, and sent 
messengers to the place where he had gone, to say, ' We are not 
willing that this man should be king over us.' 

" But in the face of this message from the people, the nobleman 
received the crown and the kingdom, and then went back to his own 
land. When he had come home, he called his servants to whom he 
had given the pounds, so that he might know how much each had 
gained by trading. The first servant came before him, and said, 
' Lord, your pound has made ten pounds more.' 

" The king said to him, ' Well done, my good servant ; because 
you have been found faithful in a very little, you shall bear rule over 
ten cities.' 

"And the second came, saying, 'Your pound, lord, has made 
five pounds.' And his lord said to him, ' You shall be over five 
cities.' 

" And another came, saying, ' Lord, here is your pound, which 
I have kept wrapped up in a napkin ; for I feared you, because you 
are a harsh master ; you take up what you did not lay down, and 
you reap what you did not sow.' He said to the servant, ' Out of 
your own mouth I will judge you, you unfaithful servant. If you 
knew that I was a harsh master, taking up what I did not lay down, 
and reaping what I did not sow, then why did you not put my 
money into the bank, so that when I came I should have had my 
own money and its gains ? ' And he said to those who- were standing 
by, ' Take away from him the pound, and give it to him that has the 
ten pounds.' 

11 They said to him, ' Lord, he hath ten pounds already! ' 

" But the king said, ' Unto every one who cares for what he has, 
more shall be given ; but the one who cares not for it, what he has 
shall be taken away from him.' 

" And the king added, ' Those, my enemies, who would not have 
me to reign over them ; bring them here, and slay them before me.' " 

And after giving this parable Jesus went before his disciples 
up the mountains toward Jerusalem. 



Story Cfytrty. 



PALM SUNDAY. 

Matthew xxi : i to n ; xxvi : 6 to 16 ; Mark ii : i to n ; xiv : 3 to 11 ; 
Luke xix : 29 to 41 ; xxii : 3 to 6; John xii : 1 to 19. 




! ROM Jericho, Jesus and his disciples went up the moun- 
tains, and came to Bethany, where his friends Martha 
and Mary lived, and where he had raised Lazarus to 
life, as we read in Story Twenty-six. Many people in 
Jerusalem heard that Jesus was there ; and they went 
out of the city to see him, for Bethany was only two miles from 
Jerusalem. Some came also to see Lazarus, whom Jesus had 
raised from the dead ; but the rulers of the Jews said to each other : 
1 'We must not only kill Jesus, but Lazarus also, because on 
his account so many of the people are going after Jesus and are 
believing on him." 

The friends of Jesus in Bethany made a supper for Jesus at 
the home of a man named Simon. He was called "Simon the 
Leper ; ' ' and perhaps he was one whom Jesus had cured of leprosy. 
Jesus and his disciples, with Lazarus, leaned upon the couches 
around the table, as the guests ; and Martha was one of those who 
waited upon them. While they were at the supper, Mary, the sister 
of Lazarus, came into the room, carrying a sealed jar of very 
precious perfume. She opened the jar, and poured some of the 
perfume upon the head of Jesus, and some upon his feet, and she 
wiped his feet with her long hair. And the whole house was filled 
with the fragrance of the perfume. 

But one of the disciples of Jesus, Judas Iscariot, was not pleased 
at this. He said, "Why was such a waste of the perfume made? 
This might have been sold for more than forty-five dollars, and 
the money given to the poor!" 

This he said, but not because he cared for the poor. Judas 
was the one who kept the bag of money for Jesus and the twelve, 

(623) 



624 



Palm Sunday 



and he was a thief, and took away for his own use all the money 
that he could steal. 

But Jesus said, "Let her alone; why do you find fault with 
the woman? She has done a good work upon me. You have the 
poor always with you, and whenever you wish you can give to them. 
But you will have me with you only a little while. She has done 
what she could; for she has come to perfume my body for its 
burial. And truly I say to you, that wherever the gospel shall be 
preached throughout all the world, what this woman has done 




JESUS RIDES INTO JERUSALEM. 

shall be told in memory of her." Perhaps Mary knew what others 
did not believe, that Jesus was soon to die; and she showed her 
love for him, and her sorrow for his coming death, by this rich 
gift. 

But Judas, the disciple who carried the bag, was very angry 
at Jesus ; and from that time he was looking for a chance to betray 
Jesus, or to give him up to his enemies. He went to the chief 
priests, and said, "What will you give me if I will put Jesus into 
your hands?" 

They said, "We will give you thirty pieces of silver." 



Jesus Rides into Jerusalem 625 

And for thirty pieces of silver Judas promised to help them 
take Jesus, and make him their prisoner. 

On the morning after the supper at Bethany, Jesus called two 
of his disciples and said to them, "Go into the next village, and at 
a place where two roads cross, and there you will find an ass tied, 
and a colt with it. Loose them, and bring them to me. And if 
anyone says to you, 'Why do you do this?' say 'The Lord has 
need of them,' and they will let them go." 

They went to the place, and found the ass and the colt, and 
were loosing them, when the owner said, "What are you doing, 
untying the ass?" 

And they said, as Jesus had told them to say, "The Lord has 
need of it!" 

Then the owner gave them the ass and the colt for the use of 
Jesus. They brought them to Jesus, on the Mount of Olives, and 
they laid some of their own clothes on the colt for a cushion, and 
set Jesus upon it. Then all the disciples and a very great multitude 
threw their garments upon the ground for Jesus to ride upon. 
Others cut down branches from the trees and laid them on the 
ground. 

And as Jesus rode over the mountain toward Jerusalem many 
walked before him waving branches of palm-trees. And they all 
cried together : 

" Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he that cometh in 
the name of the Lord! Blessed be the kingdom of our father 
David, that cometh in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the 
highest!" 

These things they said because they believed that Jesus was 
the Christ, the Anointed King, and they hoped that he would now 
set up his throne in Jerusalem. Some of the Pharisees in the crowd, 
who did not believe in Jesus, said to him, "Master, stop your 
disciples!" 

But Jesus said, "I tell you, that if these should be still, the 
very stones would cry out!" 

And when he came into Jerusalem with all this multitude, all 
the city was filled with wonder. They said, "Who is this?" 

And the multitude answered, "This is Jesus, the prophet of 
Nazareth in Galilee!" 

And Jesus went into the temple, and looked around it : but he 
40 



626 The Last Visits of Jesus to the Temple 

did not stay, because the hour was late. He went again to Bethany, 
and there stayed at night with his friends. 

These things took place on Sunday, the first day of the week; 
and that Sunday in the year is called Palm Sunday, because of 
the palm-branches which the people carried before Jesus. 



Story {£fytrty=one. 



THE LAST VISITS OF JESUS TO THE 

TEMPLE. 

Matthew xxi : 18, to xxiii : 39; Mark xi : 12, to xii : 44 ; Luke xix : 45, 

to xxi : 4. 




'N Monday morning, the second day of the week, Jesus 
rose very early in the morning and, without waiting 
to take his breakfast, went with his disciples from 
iJj^SffiEJ^Jffi Bethany over the Mount of Olives toward Jeru- 
u/7^ /£% salem. On the mountain he saw at a distance a 
fig-tree covered with leaves, and although it was early for figs to 
be ripe, he hoped that he might find upon it some figs fit to be 
eaten. Among the Jews, and by their law, any one passing a 
tree could eat of its fruit, even though he were not the owner ; but 
he would not be allowed to carry any away. 

But vvhen Jesus came near to this tree he saw that there was 
no fruit upon it, neither ripe nor green, but leaves only. Then a 
thought came into the mind of Jesus; and he spoke to the tree, 
while his disciples heard his words, "No fruit shall grow on thee 
from this time forever." And then he walked on his way to Jeru- 
salem. We shall see later why Jesus spoke those words, and what 
came from them. 



Little Children Cry "Hosanna" 627 

You remember that when Jesus came to Jerusalem the first 
time after he began to preach, he found the courts of the Temple 
rilled with people buying, and selling, and changing money, and he 
drove them all out. This we read in Story Seven of this Part. But 
that had been three years before ; and now when Jesus came into 
the Temple on the Monday morning before the Passover he found 
all the traders there once more, selling the oxen, and sheep, and 
doves for sacrifices and changing money at the tables. 

And again Jesus rose up against these people who would make 
his Father's house a shop and a place of gain. He drove them all 
out; he turned over the tables of the money-changers, scattering 
their money on the floor; he cleared away the seats of those that 
were selling doves ; and whenever he saw any one even carrying a 
jar, or a basket, or any load through the Temple, he stopped him, 
and made him go back. He said to all the people, " It is written in 
the prophets, 'My house shall be called a house of prayer for all 
nations, but you have made it a den of robbers ! ' " 

The Jews had made it a rule that no blind man, nor any lame 
man, could go into the Temple ; for they thought only those perfect 
in body should come before the Lord. But they forgot that God 
looks at hearts and not at bodies. And when Jesus found that 
many blind and lame people were at the doors of the Temple he 
allowed them to come in, and made them all v/ell. 

And the little children, who always loved Jesus, saw him in the 
Temple, and they cried out, as they heard others crying, " Hosanna 
to the Son of David!" 

The chief priests and scribes were greatly displeased as they 
heard the voices of these children, and they said to Jesus, " Do you 
hear what these are saying?" 

And Jesus said, "Yes; and have you never read what is 
written in the Psalms, ' Out of the mouth of babes and little ones, 
thou hast made thy praise perfect?' " 

And all the common people came to hear Jesus as he taught in 
the Temple, and they listened to him gladly, for he gave them plain 
and simple teachings, with many parables or stories. But the 
rulers and chief priests grew more and more angry as they saw the 
courts of the Temple filled with people eager to hear Jesus. They 
tried to find some way to lay hands on Jesus, and to kill him ; but 
they dared not while all the crowds were around him. 



628 The Last Visits of Jesus to the Temple 



All that day Jesus taught the people, and when night came he 
went out of the city, over the Mount of Olives, to Bethany, where 
he was safe among his friends. 

And on the next morning, which was Tuesday of the week 
before the Passover, Jesus again went over the Mount of Olives with 

his disciples. 
They passed 
the fig-tree 
to which 
Jesus had 
spoken such 
s t r a n g e 
words on the 
day before. 
And now the 
disciples saw 
that the tree 
was stand- 
ing, with- 
ered and 
dried, with 
its leaves 
dry and rust- 
ling in the 
wind. 

"Look, 
Master ! " 
said Peter. 
"The fig- 
tree to which 
you spoke 
yesterday is 
withered!" 
And Je- 
sus said to them all, "Have faith in God, for in truth I say to 
you, that if you have faith, you shall not only do this which has 
been done to the fig-tree; but also, if you shall say to this moun- 
tain, 'Be moved away and thrown into the sea!' it shall be done. 
And all things, whatever they may be, that you ask in prayer, if 




JESUS DRIVES OUT THE TRADERS. 



The Story of the Wedding Feast 



629 



you have faith, shall be given to you." Again Jesus went into the 
Temple and taught the people. 

And Jesus gave another parable or story, that of "The Wed- 
ding Feast. ' ' He said : 

"There was a certain king who made a great feast at the wed- 
ding of his son ; and he sent out his servant to call those whom he 
had invited to the feast. But they would not come. Then he sent 
forth other 
servants, and 
said, 'Tell 
those who 
were invited 
that my dinner 
is all ready ; 
my oxen are 
killed, and the 
dishes are on 
the table. Say 
to them, "All 
things are 
ready ; come 
to the mar- 
riage-feast!'" 

"But the 
men who had 
been sent for 
would not 
come. One 
went to his 
farm, another 
to his shop, 

and some of them seized the servants whom he sent, and beat them, 
and treated them roughly; and some of them they killed. This 
made the king very angry. He sent his armies, and killed those 
murderers, and burned up their city. Then he said to his servants, 
' The wedding-feast is ready, but those that were invited were not 
worthy of such honor. Go out into the streets, and call in every- 
body that you can find, high and low, rich and poor, good and bad, 
and tell them that they are welcome.' 




JESUS AND THE PIECE OF MONEY. 



630 The Last Visits of Jesus to the Temple 

"The servants went out and invited all the people of e very- 
kind, and brought them to the feast, so that all the places were 
filled. And to all who came they gave a wedding garment, so that 
every one might be dressed as was fitting before the king. 

" But when the king came in to meet his guests, he saw there a 
man who had not on a wedding garment. He said to him, ' Friend, 
why have you come to the feast without a wedding garment?' 

"The man had nothing to say; he stood as one dumb. Then 
the king said to his officers, ' Bind him hand and foot, and throw 
him out into the darkness, where there shall be weeping and gnash- 
ing of teeth. For in the kingdom of God many are called, but few 
are chosen.' " 

The enemies of Jesus thought that they had found a way to 
bring him into trouble, either with the people, or with the Romans, 
who were the rulers over the land. So they sent to him some men, 
who acted as though they were honest and true, but were in their 
hearts seeking to destroy Jesus. These men came, and they said, 
''Master, we know that you teach the truth, and that you are not 
afraid of any man. Now tell what is right, and what we should do. 
(Ought our people, the Jews, to pay taxes to the Roman Emperor 
Caesar, or not? Shall we pay, or shall we not pay?" 

And they watched for his answer. If he should say, "It is 
right to pay the tax," then these men could tell the people, "Jesus 
lis the friend of the Romans, and the enemy of the Jews." and then 
they would turn away from him. But if he should say, "It is not 
right to pay the tax; refuse to pay it," then they might say to the 
Roman governor that Jesus would not obey the laws, and the gov- 
ernor might put him in prison or kill him. So whatever answer 
Jesus might give, they hoped he might make trouble for himself. 

But Jesus knew their hate and the thoughts of their hearts, and 
he said, " Let me see a piece of the money that is given for the tax." 

They brought him a silver piece, and he looked at it, and said, 
" Whose head is this on the coin? Whose name is written over it? " 

They answered him, "That is Caesar, the Roman emperor." 

"Well, then," said Jesus, "give to Caesar the things that are 
Caesar's, and give to God the things that are God's!" 

They wondered at his answer, for it was so wise that they could 
speak nothing against it. They tried him with other questions, but 
he answered them all, and left his enemies with nothing to say. 



Jesus Leaves the Temple 



631 



Then Jesus turned upon his enemies, and spoke to them his last 
words. He told them of their wickedness, and warned them that 
they would bring down the wrath of God upon them. 

Jesus was in the part of the Temple called "The Treasury," 
because around the wall were boxes in which the people dropped 
their gifts when they came to worship. Some that were rich gave 
much money ; but a poor widow came by and dropped in two little 
coins, the very smallest, the two together worth only a quarter of a 
cent. Jesus said, "I tell you in truth that this poor widow has 
dropped into the treasury more than all the rest. For the others 
gave out of their plenty, but she, in her need, has given all that 
she had." 

And with these words Jesus rose up, and went out of the Temple 
for the last time. Never again was the voice of Jesus heard within 
those walls. 




THE POOR WIDOW DROPS IN TWO LITTLE COINS. 



Storu Cfjidy=too. 



THE PARABLES ON THE MOUNT OF 

OLIVES. 

Matthew xxiv : I, to xxv : 46 ; Mark xiii : 1 to 37 , Luke xxi : 5 to 38. 




FTER Jesus had spoken his last words to the people 
and their rulers, he walked out of the Temple with 
his disciples. As they were passing through the 
great gates on the east of the Temple the disciples 
said to Jesus, "Master, what a splendid building this 
is! Look at these great stones in the foundation!" 

Jesus answered the disciples, "Do you see these great walls? 
The time is coming when these buildings shall be thrown down; 
when not one stone that you are looking upon shall be left in its 
place; when the very foundations of this house and this city shall 
be torn up!" 

These words filled the followers of Jesus with the deepest sorrow, 
for they loved the Temple and the city of Jerusalem, as all Jews 
loved it, and to them its all seemed the ruin of he whole world. 
Yet they believed the words of their Master, for they knew that 
he was a prophet, whose words were sure to come to pass, and that 
he was more than a prophet, even the son of God. They walked 
with Jesus down into the valley of the brook Kedron, and up the 
slopes of the Mount of Olives. On the top of the mountain they 
looked down upon the Temple and the city ; and then some of the 
disciples said to Jesus: 

"Master, tell us when shall these dreadful things be? Give us 
some sign, that we may know when they are coming." 

Then Jesus sat down with his disciples on the mountain and 
told them of many things that were to come upon the city and the 
world; how wars should arise, and earthquakes and diseases should 
break forth ; how enemies were to come and fight against Jerusalem, 
and destroy it and scatter its people ; and how trouble should arise 

(632) 



The Ten Young Women 



633 



upon all the earth. And he told them that he would sometime 
come again, as the Lord of all; and that all who believe in him 
should watch, and be ready to meet him. Then he gave the Parable 
of " The Ten Young Women." This was the story: 

"There were ten young women who were going out one night 
with their lamps in their hands to meet a wedding party. Five of 
these young women were wise, and five were foolish. Those that 
were foolish took with them their lighted lamps, but had no more 

oil than that which ^^—^"~~ ~~~~^^ was * n the ^ am P s; 

but each of the^^^" ^^^J vise y° un £ wo ~ 

men carried^^ ^^also a bottle 

of oil. It^| ^ a ^^ as ni g ht » 

a n cl Jm i^^ L ^^m fli i f f Bk wllile 

they Mk Ik were 




THE COMING OF THE BRIDEGROOM. 



waiting for the bridal party they all fell asleep. At midnight they 
were all awaked by the sudden cry, ' The bridegroom is coming ! 
Go out to meet him ! ' 

"Then all the young women rose up, and trimmed their lamps. 
And the foolish ones said, 'Let us have some of your oil, for our 
lamps are going out.' 

"But the other young women said, 'Perhaps there will not be 
enough for us and for you too ; go to those who sell, and buy oil 
for yourselves. ' 



634 The Parables on the Mount of Olives 



"The young women who had no oil went away to buy; and 
while they were away the bridal party came, and those that were 
ready went in with them to the feast ; and then the door was shut. 
And afterward the other young women came, knocking on the 

door, and 
calling out, 
1 Lord, Lord, 
open to us ! ' 

"But he 
said, ' I do not 
know you. ' 

"And he 
would not 
open the 
door. Watch, 
therefore, for 
you do not 
know the day 
nor the hour 
when your 
Lord will 
come." 

Jesus also 
gave to his 
disciples 
another par- 
able or pic- 
ture of what 
shall come to 
pass at the 
end of the 
world. He 
said: 
"When the Son of Man shall come in his glory, and all the 
angels of God shall come with him, then he shall sit on his glorious 
throne as King. And before him shall be brought together all the 
people of the world; and he shall divide them, and make them 
stand apart, just as a shepherd divides the sheep from the goats. 
And he shall put his sheep on his right hand, and the goats on 




THEY TOOK THE UNFAITHFUL SERVANT AWAY. 



The Story of the Sheep and the Goats 635 

his left. Then the King shall say to those on his right hand, 
'Come, ye whom my Father has blessed; come, and take the 
kingdom which' God has made ready for you. For I was hungry, 
and you gave me food; I was thirsty, and you gave me drink; 
I was a stranger, and you took me into your home ; I was naked, 
and you gave me clothes; I was sick, and you visited me; I was 
in prison, and you come to me.' 

' ' Then all those on the right of the King will say : 

"'Lord, when did we see thee hungry, and feed thee? or 
thirsty and gave thee drink? And when did we see thee a stranger, 
and took thee in ? or naked and gave thee clothes ? And when did 
we see thee sick, or in prison, and come to thee?' 

"And the King shall answer, and shall say to them: 

"'Inasmuch as you did it to one of these my brothers, even 
the very least of them, you did it to me.' 

"Then the King shall turn to those on his left hand, and shall 
say to them : 

"'Go away from me, ye cursed ones, into the everlasting fire 
which has been made ready for the devil and his angels. For I 
was hungry, and you gave me no food ; I was thirsty, and you gave 
me no drink; I was a stranger, and you did not open your doors 
to me ; I was naked, and you gave me no clothes ; I was sick, and 
in prison, and you did not visit me.' 

" Then shall they answer him : 

" ' Lord, when did we see thee hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, 
or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not help thee?' 

"And the King shall say to them: 

Inasmuch as you did it not to one of these the ' least of my 
brothers, you did it not to me.' 

"And the wicked shall go away to be punished forever; but 
the righteous unto everlasting life." 

After these words, Jesus went with his disciples again to 
Bethany, 



Story £fytrty=tf?ree. 



THE LAST SUPPER. 

Matthew xxvi : 17 to 35 ; Mark xiv : 12 to 31 ; Luke xxii : 7 to 38 ; 
John xiii : 1, to xvii : 26. 




N one of the days in the week before the Passover, the 
disciples came to Jesus at Bethany, and said, "Mas- 
ter, where shall we make ready the Passover for you 
to eat?" 

Then Jesus called to himself the two disciples, 
Peter and John, and said to them, "Go into the city, and- a man 
carrying a pitcher of water will meet you; follow him, and go into 
the house where he goes, and say to the head of the house, ' The ' 
Master says, " Where is my guest-room; where lean eat the Pass- 
over with my disciples?' " 

"And he will himself show you a large upper room, furnished; 
there make ready for us." 

Peter and John went into Jerusalem, and soon in the street 
they saw a man walking toward them carrying a pitcher of water. 
They followed him, went into the house where he took the pitcher, 
and spoke to the man who seemed to be its head : 

"The Master says, 'Where is the guest-room for me, where I 
may eat the Passover with my disciples ? ' " 

The man led them upstairs, and showed them a large upper 
room, with the table and the couches around it, all ready for the 
guests at dinner. Then the disciples went out, and brought a lamb, 
and roasted it ; and made ready the vegetables and the thin wafers 
of bread made without yeast, for the meal. 

On Thursday afternoon, Jesus and his disciples walked out of 
Bethany together, and over the Mount of Olives, and into the city. 
Only Jesus, who could read the thoughts of men, knew that one of 
these disciples, Judas, had made a promise to the chief priests to 
lead them and their servants to Jesus, when the hour should come 
to seize him : and Judas was watching for the best time to do this 

(636) 



Washing the Disciples' Feet 637 

dreadful deed. They came into the house, and went upstairs to the 
large room, where they found the supper all ready. The meal was 
spread upon a table ; and around the table were couches for the com- 
pany, where each one lay down with his head toward the table, so 
near that he could help himself to the food, while his feet were at 
the foct of the couch, toward the wall of the room. Their feet 
were bare, for they had all taken off their sandals as they came in. 

Jesus was leaning at the head of the table, and John, the 
disciple whom Jesus loved most, was lying next to him. While 
they were eating, Jesus took bread, and gave thanks. Then he 
broke it, and passed a piece to each one of the twelve, saying : 

" Take, and eat ; this is my body which is broken for you ; do 
this and remember me." 

Afterward, he took the cup of wine, and passed it to each one, 
with the words : 

"This cup is my blood, shed for you, and for many, that their 
sins may be taken away ; as often as you drink this, remember me." 

While they were still leaning on the couches around the table, 
Jesus rose up, and took off his outer robe, and then tied around his 
waist a long towel. He poured water into a basin, and while all 
the disciples were wondering, he carried the water to the feet of 
one of the disciples, and began to wash them, just as though he 
himself were a servant. Then he washed the feet of another 
disciple, and then of still another. When he came to Simon Peter, 
Peter said to him, "Dost thou, O Lord, wash my feet?" 

Jesus said to him, "What I do, you cannot understand now, 
but you will understand it after a time." 

" Lord, thou shalt never wash my feet," said Peter. 

"If I do not wash you," said Jesus, "then you are none of 
mine." 

Then Peter said, "O Lord, wash not only my feet, but my 
hands and my head too!" 

But Jesus said to him, " No, Peter ; one who has already bathed 
needs only to wash his feet, and then he is clean. And you are 
clean, but not all of you." 

For he knew that among those whose feet he was washing was 
one, the traitor, who would soon give him up to his enemies. After 
he had washed their feet, he put on his garments again, and leaned 
once more on his couch, and looked around, and said: 



638 The Last Supper 

"Do you know what I have done to you? You call me 
'Master' and 'Lord,' and you speak rightly, for so I am. If I, 
your Lord and Master, have washed your feet, you also ought to 
wash each other's feet ; for I have given you an example that you 
should do to each other as I have done to you." 

By this Jesus meant that all who follow him should help and 
serve each other, instead of seeking great things for themselves. 

While Jesus was talking, he became very sad and sorrowful, 
and said, "Verily, verily, I say to you, that one of you that are 
eating with me shall betray me, and give me up to those who will 
kill me." 

Then all the disciples looked round on each other, wondering 
who was the one that Jesus meant. One said, and another said, 
"Am I the one, Lord?" 

And Jesus said, " It is one of you twelve men, who are dipping 
your hands into the same dish and eating with me. The Son of 
Man goes, as it is written of him ; but woe to that man who betrays 
him and gives him up to die. It would have been good for that 
man if he had never been born." 

While Jesus was speaking, Simon Peter made signs to John 
across the table, that he, leaning next to Jesus, should ask him 
who this traitor was. So John whispered to Jesus, as he was lying 
close to him, " Lord, who is it? " 

Jesus answered, but so low that none else heard: "It is the 
one to whom I will give a piece of bread after I have dipped it 
in the dish." 

Then Jesus dipped into the dish a piece of bread, and gave it 
to Judas Iscariot, who was lying near him. And as he gave it, he 
said, " Do quickly what you are going to do." 

No one except John knew what this meant. Not all heard 
what Jesus said to Judas ; and those who heard thought that Jesus 
was telling him to do something belonging to the feast, or perhaps, 
as Judas carried the money, that he should make some gift to the 
poor. But Judas at once went out, for he saw now that his plan 
was known, and it must be carried out now or never. He knew 
that after the supper Jesus would go back to Bethany ; and he 
went to the rulers, told them where they might watch for Jesus on his 
way back to Bethany, and went with a band of men to a place at the 
foot of the Mount of Olives, where he was sure Jesus would pass. 



6 4o The Last Supper 

As soon as Judas had gone out, Jesus said to the eleven disciples, 
" Little children, I shall be with you only a little while. I am going 
away; and where I go, you cannot come now. But when I am 
gone away from you, remember this new commandment that I 
give you, that you love one another even as I have loved you." 

Simon Peter said to Jesus, " Lord, where are you going? " 

Jesus answered, "Where I go, you cannot follow me now, but 
you shall follow me afterward." 

Peter said to him, V Lord, what, cannot I follow you even now? 
I will lay down my life for your sake." 

Jesus said, "Will you lay down your life forme? I tell you, 
Peter, that before the cock crows to-morrow morning you will 
three times deny that you have ever known me ! ' ' 

But Peter said, "Though I die, I will never deny you, Lord!" 

And so said all the other disciples; but Jesus said to them, 
" Before morning comes every one of you will leave me alone. Yet 
I will not be alone, for the Father will be with me." 

Jesus saw that Peter and all his disciples were full of sorrow 
at his words, and he said, "Let not your hearts be troubled; ye 
believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are 
many houses; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I am 
going to make ready a place for you. And when it is ready, I will 
come again, and take you to myself, that where I am, there you 
may be also." 

Then Jesus talked with the disciples a long time, and prayed 
for them. And about midnight they left the supper-room together, 
and came to the Mount of Olives. 




JUDAS KISSES JESUS IN THE GAR 



Story Cf}irty=four. 



THE OLIVE ORCHARD AND THE 
HIGH-PRIEST'S HALL. 

Matthew xxvi : 36 to 75 ; Mark xiv : 32 to 72 ; Luke xxii : 40 to 62 

John xviii : 1 to 27. 




T the foot of the Mount of Olives, near the path over 
the hill toward Bethany, there was an orchard of 
olive trees, called "The Garden of Gethsemane. ' ' The 
word "Gethsemane" means "oil press." Jesus often 
went to this place with his disciples, because of its 
quiet shade. At this garden he stopped, and outside he left eight 
of his disciples, saying to them, "Sit here, while I go inside and 
pray." 

He took with him the three chosen ones, Peter, James and 
John, and went within the orchard. Jesus knew that in a little 
while Judas would be there with a band of men to seize him ; that 
within a few hours he would be beaten, and stripped, and led out 
to die. The thought of what he was to suffer came upon him and 
filled his soul with grief. He said to Peter, and James, and 
John: 

"My soul is filled with sorrow; a sorrow that almost kills me. 
Stay here and watch while I am praying. ' ' 

He went a little further among the trees, and flung himself 
down upon the ground, and cried out : 

" O, my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass away from me ; 
nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou wiliest!" 

So earnest was his feeling and so great his suffering, that there 
came out upon his face great drops of sweat like blood, falling upon 
the ground. After praying for a time, he rose up from the earth, 
and went to his three disciples, and found them all asleep. He 
awaked them, and said to Peter : 

"What, could you not watch with me one hour? Watch and 

41 ( 6 4i) 



642 Olive Orchard and High-Priest's Hall 

pray, that you may not go into temptation. The spirit indeed is 
willing, but the flesh is weak." 

He left them, and went a second time into the woods, and fell 
on his knees, and prayed again, saying : 

"O, my Father, if this cup cannot pass away, and I must 
drink it, then thy will be done." 

He came again to the three disciples, and found them sleeping ; 
but this time he did not wake them. He went once more into the 
woods, and prayed, using the same words. And an angel from 
heaven came to him, and gave him strength. 

He was now ready for the fate that was soon to come, and his 
heart was strong. Once more he went to the three disciples, and 
said to them : 

"You may as 'well sleep on now, and take your rest, for the 
hour is at hand ; and already the Son of man is given by the traitor 
into the hands of sinners. But rise up, and let us be going. See, 
the traitor is here ! " 

The disciples awoke ; they heard the noise of a crowd, and saw 
the flashing of torches, and the gleaming of swords and spears. In 
the throng they saw Judas standing, and they knew now that he 
was the traitor of whom Jesus had spoken the night before. Judas 
came rushing forward, and kissed Jesus, as though he were glad to 
see him. This was a signal that he had given beforehand to the 
band ; for the men of the guard did not know Jesus, and Judas had 
said to them, "The one that I shall kiss is the man that you are to 
take; seize him and hold him fast." 

Jesus said to Judas, '"Judas, do you betray the Son of man 
with a kiss?" 

Then he turned to the crowd, and said, " Whom do you seek? " 

They answered, "Jesus of Nazareth." 

Jesus said, " I am he." 

When Jesus said this, a sudden fear came upon his enemies; 
they drew back, and fell upon the ground. 

After a moment, Jesus said again, "Whom do you seek?" 

And again they answered, "Jesus of Nazareth." 

And Jesus said, pointing to his disciples, " I told you that I 
am he. If you are seeking me, let these disciples go their own way." 

But as they came forward to seize Jesus, Peter drew his sword, 
and struck at one of the men in front, and cut off his right ear. 



Jesus Bound and Taken Away 



043 



The man was a servant of the high-priest, and his name was 
Malchus. 

Jesus said to Peter, "Put up the sword into its sheath; the 
cup which my Father has given me, shall I not drink it? Do you 
not know that I could call upon my Father, and he would send 
to me armies upon armies of angels ? ' ' 

Then he spoke to the crowd: "Let me do this." And he 
touched the place where the ear had been cut off, and it came on 
again and was well. Jesus said to the rulers and leaders of the 




JESUS FIXDS HIS DISCIPLES ASLEEP. 



armed men, " Do you come out against me with swords and clubs as 
though I were a robber? I was with you every day in the Temple, 
and you did not lift your hands against me. But the words in the 
Scriptures must come to pass; and this is your horn." 

When the disciples of Jesus saw that he would not allow them 
to fight for him, they did not know what to do. In their sudden 
alarm they all ran away, and left their Master alone with his enemies. 
These men laid their hands on Jesus, and bound him, and led him 
away to the house of the high-priest. There were at that time two 
men called high-priests by the Jews. One was Annas, who had 



644 Olive Orchard and High-Priest's Hall 

been high-priest until his office had been taken from him by the 
Romans, and given to Caiaphas, his son-in-law. But Annas still 
had great power among the people; and they brought Jesus, all 
bound as he was, first before Annas. 

Simon Peter and John, the disciple whom Jesus loved, had 
followed after the crowd of those who carried Jesus away, and they 
came to the door of the high-priest's house. John knew the high- 
priest and went in, but Peter at first stayed outside, until John went 
out and brought him in. He came in, but did not dare to go into 
the room where Jesus stood before the high-priest Annas. In the 
courtyard of the house they had made a fire of charcoal, and Peter 
stood among those who were warming themselves at the fire. 

Annas, in the inner room, asked Jesus about his disciples and 
teaching. Jesus answered him, " What I have taught has been open 
in the synagogues and in the Temple. Why do you ask me? Ask 
those that heard me ; they know what I said." 

Then one of the officers struck Jesus on the mouth, saying to 
him, " Is this the way that you answer the high-priest? " 

Jesus answered the officer calmly and quietly, "If I have said 
anything evil, tell what the evil is ; but if I have spoken the truth, 
why do you strike me?" 

While Annas and his men were thus showing their hate toward 
Jesus, who stood bound and alone among his enemies, Peter was still 
in the courtyard, warming himself at the fire. A woman, who was 
a serving-maid in the house, looked at Peter sharply, and finally said 
to him, " You were one of those men with this Jesus of Nazareth!" 

Peter was afraid to tell the truth, and he answered her, 
" Woman, I do not know the man, and I do not know what you are 
talking about." 

And to get away from her he went out into the porch of the 
house. There another woman-servant saw him, and said, "This 
man was one of those with Jesus!" 

And Peter swore with an oath that he did not know Jesus at all. 
Soon a man came by, who was of kin to Malchus, whose ear Peter 
had cut off. He looked at Peter, and heard him speak, and said, 
" You are surely one of this man's disciples, for your speech shows 
that you came from Galilee." 

Then Peter began again to curse and to swear, declaring that 
he did not know the man of whom they were speaking. 



Peter's Sorrow 



645 



Just at that moment the loud, shrill crowing of a cock startled 
Peter, and at the same time he saw Jesus, who was being dragged 
through the hall from Annas to the council-room of Caiaphas, the 
other high-priest. And the Lord turned as he was passing and 
looked at Peter. 

Then there flashed into Peter's mind what Jesus had said on 
the evening before, " Before the cock crows to-morrow morning, you 
will three times deny that you have ever known me." 

Then Peter went out of the high-priest's house into the street, 
and he wept bitterly because he had denied his Lord. 




PETER WENT OUT AND WEPT BITTERLY. 



Story Cfyirty^toe, 



THE CROWN OF THORNS. 

Matthew xxvi : 57, to xxvii : 26 ; Mark xv : 1 to 15 ; Luke xxii: 66, 
to xxiii : 25 ; John xviii : 19, to xix : 16. 




ROM the house of Annas the enemies of Jesus led him 
away bound to the house of Caiaphas, whom the 
Romans had lately made high-priest. There all the 
rulers of the Jews were called together, and they tried 
to find men who would swear that they had heard 
Jesus say some wicked thing. This would give the rulers an excuse 
for putting Jesus to death. But they could find nothing. Some 
men swore one thing, and some- swore another ; but their words did 
not agree. 

Finally the high -priest stood up, and said to Jesus, who stood 
bound in the middle of the hall, " Have you nothing to say? What 
is it that these men are speaking against you ? ' ' 

But Jesus stood silent, answering nothing. Then the high- 
priest spoke again, "Are you the Christ, the Son of God?" 

And Jesus said, " I am ; and the time shall come when you will 
see the Son of man sitting on the throne' of power and coming in the 
clouds of heaven!" 

These words made the high-priest very angry. He said to the 
rulers, " Do you hear these dreadful words? He says that he is the 
Son of God. What do you think of words like these? " 

They all said, with one voice, " He deserves to be put to death ! " 

Then the servants of the high-priest and the soldiers that held 

Jesus began to mock him. They spat on him, and they covered his 

face, and struck him with their hands, and said, "If you are a 

prophet, tell who it is that is striking you!" 

The rulers of the Jews and the priests and the scribes passed a 
vote that Jesus should be put to death. But the land of the Jews 
was then ruled by the Romans, and no man could be put to death 

(646) 



Jesus Brought Before Pilate 



647 



unless the Roman governor commanded it. The Roman governor 
at that time was a man named Pontius Pilate, and he was then in 
the city. So all the rulers and a great crowd of people came to 




Pilate's castle, bringing with them 
Jesus, who was still bound with 
cords. 

Up to this time Judas Iscaiiot, 
although he had > betrayed Jesus, 
did not believe that he would be 
put to death. Perhaps he thought 
that Jesus would save himself from 
death, as he had saved others, 
by some wonderful work. But when he saw Jesus bound and 
beaten, and doing nothing to protect himself, and when he heard 
the rulers vote that Jesus should be put to death, Judas knew how 
wicked was the deed that he had wrought. He brought back the 



648 The Crown of Thorns 

thirty pieces of silver that had been given to him as the reward for 
betraying his Lord, and he said, "I- have sinned in betraying one 
who has done no wrong! " ..-.,. 

But they answered him, " What is that to us? You look after 
that!" 

When Judas saw that they would not take back the money and 
let Jesus go free, he carried the thirty pieces to the Temple, and 
threw them down on the floor. Then he went away and hanged 
himself. And thus the traitor died. 

After that the rulers scarcely knew what to do with the money. 
They said, "We cannot put it into the treasury of the Temple, 
because it is the price paid for a man's blood." 

And when they had talked together, they used it in buying a 
piece of ground called "the potter's field." This they set apart as 
a place for burying strangers who died in the city and had no friends. 
But every one in Jerusalem spoke of that place as "The Field of 
Blood." * 

It was very early in the morning when the rulers of the Jews 
brought Jesus to Pilate. They would not go into Pilate's hall, 
because Pilate was not of their nation ; and Pilate came out to them, 
and asked them, "What charge do you bring against this man? " 

They answered, " If he were not an evil-doer, we would not have 
brought him to you." 

Pilate did not wish to be troubled, and he said, "Take him 
away, and judge him by your own law!" 

The Jews said to Pilate, "We are not allowed to put any man 
to death, and we have brought him to you. We have found this 
man teaching evil, and telling men not to pay taxes to the Emperor 
Cassar, and saying that he himself is Christ, a king." 

Then Pilate went into his court-room, and sent for Jesus; and 
when he looked at Jesus, he said, "Are you the King of the Jews? 
Your own people have brought you to me. What have you done? " 

Jesus said to him, " My kingdom is not of this world. If it were 
of this world, then those who serve me would fight to save me from 
my enemies. But now my kingdom is not here." 

Pilate said, "Are you a king, then?" 

Jesus answered him, " You have spoken it. I am a king. For 
this was I born, and for this I came into the world, that I might 
speak the truth of God to men." 



Jesus Sent to Herod 



649 



"Truth," said Pilate, ''What is truth?" 

Then, without waiting for an answer, Pilate went out to the 
rulers and the crowd, and said, " I find no evil in this man." 

Pilate thought that Jesus was a harmless man, but perhaps one 
whose mind was weak, and he could see no reason why the rulers 
and the people should be so bitter against him. But they cried out 
all the more, saying, "He stirs up the people everywhere, from 
Galilee even to this place." 




LOOK ON THIS MAN 



When Pilate heard the word "Galilee," he asked if this man 
had come from that land. They told him that he had; and then 
Pilate said, " Galilee and its people are under the rule of Herod. He 
has come up to Jerusalem, and I will send this man to him." 

So, from Pilate's court -room, Jesus was sent, still bound, to 
Herod's palace. This was the Herod who had put John the Baptist 
in prison, and had given his head to a dancing-girl, as we read in 
Story Eighteen of this Part. Herod was very glad to see Jesus, for 



650 The Crown of Thorns 

he had heard many things about him; and. he hoped to see him do 
some wonderful thing. But Jesus would not work wonders as a 
show, to be looked at ; and when Herod asked him many questions, 
Jesus would not speak a word. Herod would not judge Jesus, for 
he knew that Jesus had done nothing wrong ; so he and his soldiers 
mocked Jesus, and dressed him in a gay robe, as though he were a 
make-believe king, and sent him back to Pilate. 

So Pilate, much against his will, was compelled to decide either 
for Jesus or against him. And just as Jesus was standing bound 
before him a message came to Pilate from his wife, saying, " Do 
nothing against that good man ; for in this night I have suffered 
many things in a dream on account of him." 

Pilate said to the Jews, " You have brought this man to me as 
one who is leading the people to evil ; and I have seen that there is no 
evil in him, nor has Herod ; now I will order that he be beaten with 
rods, and then set free. For you know that it is the custom to set a 
prisoner free at the time of the feast." 

They set some prisoner free, as a sign of the joy at the feast. 
And at that time there was in the prison a man named Barabbas, 
who was a robber and a murderer. Pilate said to the people, " Shall 
I set free Jesus, who is called the King of the Jews? " 

But the rulers went among the people and urged them to ask 
for Barabbas to be set free. 

And the crowd cied out, " Not this man, but Barabbas!" 

Then Pilate said, "What, then, shall I do with Jesus?" 

And they all cried out, " Crucify him! Let him die on the 
cross!" 

Pilate wished greatly to spare the life of Jesus. To show how 
he felt, he sent for water, and he washed his hands before all the 
people, saying, " My hands are clean from the blood of this good 
man!' 

And they cried out, " Let his blood be on us, and on our children 
after us ! Crucify him ! Send him to the cross ! ' ' 

Then Pilate, to please the people, gave them what they asked. 
He set free Barabbas, the man of their choice, though he was a 
robber and a murderer ; but before giving way to the cry that he 
should send Jesus to the cross, he tried once more to save his life. 
He caused Jesus to be beaten until the blood came upon him, hoping 
that this might satisfy the people. As Jesus was spoken of as a 



652 The Darkest Day of All the World 

king, the soldiers who beat Jesus made a crown of thorns, and put 
it on his head, and they put on him a purple robe, such as was worn 
by kings, and bowing down before him they called ou^ to him, "Hail, 
King of the Jews!" 

Then, hoping to awaken some pity for Jesus, Pilate brought 
him out to the people, with the crown of thorns and the purple robe 
upon him, and Pilate said, "Look on this man!" 

But again the cry arose, " Crucify him ! Send him to the cross !' ' 

And at last Pilate yielded to the voice of the people. He sat 

down on the judgment-seat, and gave commands that Jesus, whom 

he knew to be a good man, one who had done nothing evil, should 

be put to death upon the cross. 



Story 0}irty=sbe. 



THE DARKEST DAY OF ALL THE 
WORLD. 

Matthew xxvii : 31 to 66 ; Mark xv : 20 to 47 ; Luke xxiii : 26 to 56; 

John xix : 16 to 42. 




ND so Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor, gave order 
that Jesus should die by the cross. The Roman 
soldiers then took Jesus and beat him again most 
cruelly ; and then led him out of the city to the place 
of death. This was a place called " Golgotha" in the 

Jewish language, "Calvary" in that of the Romans; both words 

meaning "The Skull Place." 

With the soldiers went out of the city a great crowd of people, 

some of them enemies of Jesus, glad to see him suffer; others of 

them friends of Jesus, and the women who had helped him, now 



Jesus on the Cross 653 

weeping as they saw him, all covered with his blood, and going out 
to die. But Jesus turned to them, and said: 

"Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for 
yourselves, and for your children. For the days are coming when 
they shall count those happy who have no little ones to be slain; 
when they shall wish that the mountains might fall on them, and 
the hills might cover them, and hide them from their enemies!" 

They had tried to make Jesus bear his own cross, but soon 
found that he was too weak from his sufferings, and could not 
carry it. They seized on a man who was coming out of the country 
into the city, a man named Simon ; and they made him carry the 
cross to its place at Calvary. 

It was a custom among the Jews, to give to men about to die 
by the cross some medicine to deaden their feelings, so that they 
would not suffer so greatly. They offered this to Jesus, but when 
he had tasted it, and found what it was, he would not take it. He 
knew that he would die, but he wished to have his mind clear, and 
to understand what was done and what was said, even though his 
sufferings might be greater. 

At the place Calvary they laid the cross down, and stretched 
Jesus upon it, and drove nails through his hands and feet to fasten 
him to the cross ; and then they stood it upright with Jesus upon it. 
While the soldiers were doing this dreadful work, Jesus prayed for 
them to God, saying, "Father, forgive them; for they know not 
what they are doing." 

The soldiers also took the clothes that Jesus had worn, giving 
to each one a garment. But when they came to his undergarment, 
they found that it was woven, and had no seams; so they said, 
"Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it, to see who shall have it." 
So at the foot of the cross the soldiers threw lots for the garment 
of Christ. Two men who had been robbers and had been sentenced 
to die by the cross, were led out to die at the same, time with Jesus. 
One was placed on a cross at his right side, and the other at his 
left ; and to make Jesus appear as the worst, his cross stood in the 
middle. Over the head of Jesus on his cross, they placed, by Pilate's 
order, a sign on which was written : 

"This is Jesus of Nazareth, 
The King of the Jews." 



6 54 The Darkest Day of All the World 

This was written in three languages: in Hebrew, which was 
the language of the Jews; in Latin, the language of the Romans, 
and in Greek. Many of the people read this writing; but the 
chief priests were not pleased with it. They urged Pilate to have 
it changed from "The King of the Jews" to "He said, I am King 
of the Jews." 

But Pilate would not change it. He said, "What I have 
written, I have written." 




JESUS LED AWAY TO THE CROSS, 



And the people who passed by on the road, as they looked at 
Jesus on the cross, mocked at him. Some called out to him, "You 
that would destroy the Temple, and build it in three days, save 
yourself. If you are the Son of God, come down from the 
cross!" 

And the priests and scribes said, " He saved others, but he 
cannot save himself. Come down from the cross, and we will 
believe in you!" 

And one of the robbers who was on his own cross beside that 



A Sudden Darkness Came Over the Land 655 

of Jesus joined in the cry, and said, " If you are the Christ, save 
yourself and save us!" 

But the other robber said to him, " Have you no fear of God, 
to speak thus, while you are suffering the same fate with this man ? 
And we deserve to die, but this man has done nothing wrong." 

Then this man said to Jesus, " Lord, remember me when thou 
comest into thy kingdom!" 

And Jesus answered him, as they were both hanging on their 
crosses : 

"To-day you shall be with me in heaven." 

Before the cross of J -v his mother was standing, filled with 
sorrow for her son, and beside her was one of his disciples, John, 
the disciple whom he loved best. Other women besides his mother 
were there, his mother's sister, Mary the wife of'Cleopas, and a 
woman named Mary Magdalene, out of whom a year before Jesus 
had sent an evil spirit. Jesus wished to give his mother, now that 
he was leaving her, into the care of John, and he said to her, as he 
looked from her to John, "Woman, see your son." 

And then to John he said, "Son, see your mother." 

And on that day John took the mother of Jesus home to his 
own house, and cared for her as his own mother. 

At about noon a sudden darkness came over the land, and 
lasted for three hours. And in the middle of the afternoon, when 
Jesus had been on the cross six hours of terrible pain, he cried out 
aloud words which meant : 

" My Lord, my God, why hast thou forsaken me ! " words which 
are the beginning of the twenty-second Psalm, a psalm which long 
before had spoken of many of Christ's sufferings. 

After this he spoke again, saying, "I thirst!" 

And some one dipped a sponge in a cup of vinegar, and put it 
upon a reed, and gave him a drink of it. Then Jesus spoke his last 
words upon the cross : 

"It is finished! Father, into thy hands I give my spirit!" 

And then Jesus died. And at that moment the vail in the 
Temple between the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies was torn 
apart by unseen hands from the top to the bottom. And the 
Roman officer who had charge of the soldiers around the cross saw 
what had taken place, and how Jesus died, and he said, "Truly this 
was a righteous man ; he was the Son of God." 



656 The Darkest Day of All the World 

After Jesus was dead, one of the soldiers, to be sure that he 
was no longer living, ran his spear into the side of his dead body ; 
and out of the wound came pouring both water and blood. 

There were even among the rulers of the Jews a few who were 
friends of Jesus, though they did not dare to follow Jesus openly. 
One of these was Nicodemus, the ruler who came to see Jesus at 
night, as we read in Story Seven. Another was a rich man who 
came from the town of Arimathea, and was named Joseph. Joseph 
of Arimathea went boldly in to Pilate, and asked that the body 
of Jesus might be given to" him. Pilate wondered that he had died 
so soon, for often men lived on the cross two or three days. But 
when he found that Jesus was really dead, he gave his body to 
Joseph. 

Then Joseph and his friends took down the body of Jesus from 
the cross, and wrapped it in fine linen. And Nicodemus brought 
some precious spices, myrrh and aloes, which they wrapped up with 
the body. Then they placed the body in Joseph's own new tomb, 
which was a cave dug out of the rock, in a garden near the place 
of the cross. And before the opening of the cave they rolled a great 
stone. 

And Mary Magdalene and the other Mary and some other 
women saw the tomb, and watched while they laid the body of 
Jesus in it. On the next morning, some of the rulers of the Jews 
came to Pilate, and said: 

"Sir, we remember that that man Jesus of Nazareth, who 
deceived the people, said while he was yet alive, 'After three days 
I will rise again.' Give orders that the tomb shall be watched and 
made sure for three days ; or else his disciples may steal his body, 
and then say, ' He is risen from the dead : ' and thus even after his 
death he may do more harm than he did while he was alive." 

Pilate said to them, "Set a watch, and make it as sure as you 
can." 

Then they placed a seal upon the stone, so that no one might 
break it ; and they set a watch of soldiers at the door. 

And in the tomb the body of Jesus lay from the evening of 
Friday, the day when he died on the cross, to the dawn of Sunday, 
the first day of the week. 




42 



Story €f}trty=sep<m. 



THE BRIGHTEST DAY OF ALL THE 

WORLD. 

Matthew xxviii ; i to 10 ; Mark xvi : i to 13 ; Luke xxiv : 1 to 49 ; 

John xx : 1 to 23. 




'N Sunday morning, two days after the death and burial 
of Jesus, some women went very early, as soon as it 
was light, to the tomb in the garden. One of these 
^/%iffi(|£jjjjpi women was Mary Magdalene, another was also named 
UZs^ ^ Mary, and another was named Salome. They were 
bringing some more fragrant gums and spices to place in the wrap- 
pings upon the body of Jesus. And as they went they said to each 
other, "Who will roll away for us the great stone at the door of 
the cave?" 

But when they came to the cave, they saw that the seal was 
broken, the stone was rolled away, and the soldiers who had been 
on guard were gone. There stood the tomb of Jesus all open! 
They did not know that before they came to the tomb there had 
been an earthquake; and that an angel had come down from 
heaven and rolled away the stone, and sat upon it. When the 
soldiers on guard saw the angel, with his flashing face, and his 
dazzling garments, they fell to the ground as though they were 
dead, and as soon as they could rise up, they fled away from the 
spot in terror; so when the women came there was no man in sight. 
As soon as Mary Magdalene saw that the tomb was open, 
without stopping to look into it, she ran quickly to tell the disciples. 
A moment after she had gone, the other women looked into the 
tomb, and they saw that the body of Jesus was not there. But 
they saw sitting at each end of the tomb a young man, clothed in 
a long white garment. Their faces shone like angels, and when the 
women saw them they were filled with fear. One of the angels 
said to them: 

(658) 




MARY MAGDALENE MEETING THE RISEN JESUS 



tm 



The Angel at the Tomb 



659 



* Do not be afraid ; you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who 
was crucified. He is ot here ; he is risen, as he said that he would 
rise from the dead. Jome, see the place where the Lord lay; and 
then go and tell his disciples, and tell Peter too, that Jesus will go 
before you into Galilee, and you shall see him there." 

Then the women went away in mingled joy and fear. They 
ran in haste to bring this word of the angel to the disciples. 

But while these women 
were looking into the tomb, 
and were 




THE GUARDS OF THE TOMB FALL TO THE EARTH. 



seeking the disciples, to tell them that the tomb was open, and the 
body of Jesus was not there; for she did not know that he had 
risen. She found Peter and John, and said to them, "They have 
taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where 
they have laid him ! ' ' 

Then Peter and John at once went as quickly as they could go, 
to the tomb. John outran Peter, and came first to the tomb, 
perhaps because he was the youngest. But when he saw the open 
door, and the broken seal, and the stone lying at one side, he stood 



66o The Brightest Day of All the World 

still for a moment. John stooped and looked into the cave, and 
he could see the linen cloths that had been wrapped around the 
body of Jesus lying together. But when Peter came up, he did not 
wait, but pressed at once into the tomb; and then John followed 
him, and he too walked into the cave. Now he could see not only 
the long strips of linen rolled up; but in another place, carefully 
folded, the napkin that had been tied over the face of Jesus. 

Then suddenly it flashed upon the mind of John, "Jesus has 
risen from the dead ! ' ' For he had not seen the angel, nor heard his 
words. From that moment John believed that Jesus was once more 
living. Both Peter and John went away, to think of the strange 
things they had seen. And very soon Mary Magdalene came back 
to the tomb. No one was there, for both the women and the 
disciples had gone away. Mary Magdalene did not know that 
Jesus had risen, for she had not heard the angel's message. 

She wept as she thought of her Lord, slain by wicked men, 
and not even allowed to rest in his grave. And still weeping, she 
stooped and looked into the tomb. There she saw two men in 
white garments sitting, one at the head, the other at the feet, 
where the body of Jesus had lain. They were the two angels 
whom the other women had seen, but Mary Magdalene did not 
know this. One of them said to her, " Woman, why do you weep? " 

She answered, " Because they have taken away my Lord; and 
I do not know where they have laid him." 

Something caused her to turn around; and she saw a man 
standing behind her. It was Jesus; but her eyes were held for a 
moment from knowing him. He said to her, "Woman, why do 
you weep?" 

She supposed that he was the gardener, and said, hardly 
looking at him, "Sir, if you have carried him out of this place, tell 
me where you have laid him, and I will take him away." 

Then the stranger spoke her name, "Mary!" and she knew 
that he was Jesus, no longer dead, but living. She turned around, 
and fell down before him, and was about to seize his feet, as she 
said, "My Master!" 

But Jesus said to her, " Do not take hold of me ; I am not yet 
going away to my Father. But go to my brothers, and say to 
them, I go up to my Father, and to your Father, to my God, and 
your God!" 



Jesus Shows Himself to His Friends 66 1 

Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples how she had seen 
the Lord, and how he had spoken these things to her. So this was 
the first time that any one saw Jesus after he rose from the dead. 

You remember that the other women, another Mary, and 
Salome, and the rest, had not seen the risen Christ, but they had 
seen an angel, who told them that he had risen, and would meet his 
disciples in Galilee. They went into the city, and were looking for 
the disciples, when suddenly Jesus himself stood before them, and 
said, "All hail!" That means, "A welcome to all of you!" They 
fell down before him, and worshipped him. And Jesus said to 
them, as he had said to Mary Magdalene, only a few moments before, 
" Do not be afraid; but find my brothers, and tell them to go into 
Galilee, and they shall see me there." 

And this was the second time that Jesus showed himself living 
on that day when he arose. 

On that same day two of the followers of Jesus were walking 
out of Jerusalem to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles 
away. While they were talking over the strange happenings of the 
day, they saw that a stranger was walking beside them. It was 
Jesus, their risen Lord, but they were held back from knowing 
him. The stranger said to them, "What words are these that you 
are speaking with each other, which seem to make you so sad? " 

One of the two men, named Cleopas, answered, "Are you even 
a stranger in Jerusalem, and have not heard of what things have 
taken place there in the last few days? " 

The stranger said, "What things?" 

And they said, "The things with regard to Jesus of Nazareth, 
who was a prophet mighty in his acts and his words before God and 
all the people ; how the chief priests and our rulers caused him to 
be sentenced to death, and how he died on the cross. But we hoped 
that he was the promised One, who was to save Israel. And now it 
is the third day since he was put to death. And to-day some 
women of our company who were early at the tomb surprised us 
with the news that the tomb was empty, his body was not there ; 
and they had seen a vision of angels, who said that Jesus was alive. 
Then some of us went to the tomb, and found it just as the women 
had said; but they did not see him." 

Then the stranger said to them, "O foolish men, and slow of 
heart to believe what the prophets have said! Was it not needful 



662 The Brightest Day of All the World 

for the Christ to suffer these things, and then to enter in his 
glory?" 

Then he began with the books of Moses, and went through the 
prophets, and showed them in all the Scriptures the meaning of all 
that was told about Christ. And as they went on, they came to 
the village to which they were going, and he acted as though he 
would go on beyond it. Then they urged and persuaded him to 
stay with them. They said, "Abide with us, for ; t is now almost 
evening, and the day is at its close." 

And he went in with them, and sat down with them to a supper. 
As they were about to eat he took the loaf of bread into his hands, 
and blessed it, and broke it, and gave it to them. And at that 
moment their eyes were opened, and they knew that he was the 
Lord; and he passed out of their sight. They said to each other, 
"Was not our heart burning within us while he talked to us on the 
road, and while he opened to us the words of the Scriptures? " 

This was the third time that Jesus showed himself on that day. 
These two men hastened to Jerusalem that night to tell what they 
had seen . And they found ten of the disciples met together and say- 
ing, " The Lord has risen indeed, and has been seen by Simon Peter." 

We do not know what Jesus said to Peter; but this was the 
fourth time that he was seen living on that day when he arose. 

The ten disciples and other followers of Jesus were together in 
a room on that night, and the doors were shut. Suddenly Jesus him- 
self was seen standing among them. He said, " Peace be unto you ! " 

Some of them were alarmed when they saw him, and thought 
that he must be a spirit. But he said to them, "Why are you 
troubled? And why do fears come to you? Look at the wounds 
in my hands and my feet! Handle me, and see. A spirit does not 
have flesh and bones, as you see that I have." 

And he showed them his hands and his side. They could 
scarcely believe for the joy of seeing him again. He said, "Have 
you here anything to eat? " 

They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and of a honeycomb, and 
he ate before them. And he said, "This is what I told you while I 
was with you, that everything written of me in the law of Moses, and 
in the prophets, and in the psalms, must come to pass. It was need- 
ful that Christ should suffer thus, and should rise from the dead, and 
that everywhere the gospel should be preached in his name. I will 




THE RISEN CHRIST BLESSING HIS DISCIPLES. 



664 The Stranger on the Shore 

send the promise of my Father upon you; but stay in Jerusalem 
after I leave you, until power shall come upon you from on high." 

Then, when the disciples saw that it was really the Lord, and 
that he was alive from the dead, they were glad. And Jesus said 
to them again, "Peace be to you, as my Father has sent me, even 
so I send you. May the Spirit of God come upon you! " 

And this was the fifth time that Jesus showed himself alive on 
that day. This Sunday was the brightest day in all the world, 
because on it Jesus rose from the dead. And that Sunday in every 
year is called Easter Sunday. 



Story CfftrtiKtgfjt 



THE STRANGER ON THE SHORE. 

Matthew xxviii : 16 to 20 ; Mark xvi : 14 to 20 ; Luke xxiv : 50 to 53 ; 

John xx : 26, to xxi : 25 ; Acts i:i to 11; 

I Corinthians xv : 3 to 8. 




iHEN Jesus showed himself to the disciples on the even- 
ing of the day of his rising from the dead, only ten of 
the disciples saw him, for Judas was no longer among 
them, and Thomas the Twin * (which is the meaning 
of his other name, Didymus) was absent. The 
other disciples said to Thomas, " We have seen the Lord! " 

But Thomas said, " I will not believe that he has risen unless I 
can see in his hands the marks of the nails on the cross. I must see 
them with my own eyes, and put my finger upon them, and put my 
hand into the wound in his side, before I will believe." 

A week passed away, and on the next Sunday evening the dis- 
ciples were together again, and at this time Thomas was with them. 



Jesus and Thomas 



66s 



The doors were shut, but suddenly Jesus was seen again standing 
in the middle of the room. He said, as before, " Peace be with you." 

Then he turned to Thomas, and said to him, "Thomas, come 
here, and touch my hands with your finger, and put your hand 
into my side ; and no longer refuse to believe that I am living, but 
have faith in 
me!" And 
Thomas an- 
swered him, 
" My Lord and 
my God!" 

Then Jesus 
said to him, 
14 Because you 
have seen me, 
you have be- 
lieved; blessed 
are they that 
have not seen, 
and yet have 
believed. ' ' 

You re- 
member that 
the angels had 
said to the 
women at the 
tomb of Jesus, 
that his disci- 
ples should go 
into Galilee, 
and there they 
would see the 
risen Lord. 
They went to 
Galilee, and 

waited for some days without seeing Jesus. Finally Peter said, 
" I am going fishing. " 

"We will go with you," said the others. There were with 
Peter the two brothers, James and John, Thomas and Nathanael, 




THOMAS ANSWERED 



MY LORD AND MY GOD 



666 The Stranger on the Shore 

and two other disciples. They went out upon the lake in the 
fishing-boat, and worked all night, but found no fish. Just as the 
day was breaking they saw some one standing on the beach. It 
was Jesus, but they did not know him. He called out to them, 
as one friend calls to another, "Boys, have you caught anything?" 

They answered him, " No." 

He said to them, "Cast the net on the right side of the ship, 
and you will find some fish." 

They may have thought that standing on the shore he could 
see the signs of a shoal of fish, which they from the boat could not 
see. But the quick eyes of John, the beloved disciple, were the 
first to see who was this stranger on the shore. He said to Peter, 
"It is the Lord!" 

When Peter heard this, he flung around him his fisherman's 
coat, and leaped into the water, and swam to the shore to meet 
his Lord. But the other six disciples stayed in the boat, and 
rowed to the shore, dragging after them the net full of fishes. 
When they came to the land, they found burning a fire of charcoal, 
and a fish broiling upon it, and a loaf of bread beside it. They all 
knew now that it was the Lord Jesus, and he said to them, " Bring 
some of the fish that you have now caught." 

Simon Peter waded out to where the net was lying, filled with 
fish, and drew it to the shore. Afterward they counted the fish. 
that were in.it, and found them one hundred and fifty-three large 
fishes, besides small ones. Yet the net was not broken with all 
these fish in it. Jesus said to them, "Come now and breakfast." 

He took the bread, and gave it to them, and gave them fish 
also ; and the seven disciples ate a breakfast with their risen Lord. 
This was the third time that Jesus showed himself to his disciples 
in a company after rising from the tomb, the seventh of the times 
that he was seen. 

After the breakfast, Jesus turned to Simon Peter, the one who 
three times had denied that he knew Jesus, and he said to him, 
"Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me?" 

Peter answered him, "Yes, Lord, thou knowest that I love 
thee." 

Jesus said to him, " Feed my lambs." 

Then after a time Jesus said again, "Simon, son of Jonas, 
dost thou love me?" 




fHERISENCHRISTONTHESHORESEEN BY TH E DISC I PLES IN THE BOAT. 



668 The Stranger on the Shore 

Peter answered him as before, "Yes, Lord; thou knowest that 
I love thee." 

And Jesus said to him, "Tend my sheep," 

The third time Jesus said to him, " Simon, son of Jonas, lovest 
thou me?" 

Peter was troubled to have this question asked again and 
again, and he answered, "Lord, thou knowest all things; thou 
knowest that I love-ihee." 

Then Jesus said to him, " Feed my sheep." And Jesus added, 
"Follow me!" 

And thus Peter, after his fall, three times declared his love to 
Christ, and was again called to his place among the disciples. 

After this the followers of Jesus met on a mountain in Galilee, . 
perhaps the same mountain where Jesus had before given the 
teachings called "The Sermon on the Mount," of which we read in 
Story Thirteen. More than five hundred people were gathered at 
this time; and there Jesus showed himself to them all. He said 
to them : 

"All power is given to me in heaven and in earth. Go ye 
therefore and preach my gospel to all the nations of the earth, 
baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of 
the Holy Spirit; teaching them to keep all the commands that 
I have given you. And I am with you always, even to the end of 
the world." ^ 

This was the eighth time that Jesus was seen after he rose from 
the dead. The ninth was when he showed himself to James, not 
the apostle of that name, but another James, who was called "The 
Lord's Brother," and may have been a son of Joseph, the carpenter 
of Nazareth, and of Mary* his wife. We do not know what was 
said at this meeting; but from this time James was a strong 
believer in Jesus. 

Once more, the tenth time, the risen Saviour showed himself 
to all his eleven disciples. It may have been in Jerusalem, for he 
told them not to leave the city, but to wait until God should send 
down upon them his Spirit, as he had promised. And Jesus said 
to them : 

"When the Holy Spirit comes upon you, you shall have a new 
power, and you shall speak in my name in Jerusalem, and in Judea, 
and in Samaria, and in the farthest parts of the earth." 



03 




670 



The Stranger on the Shore 



Jesus led his disciples out of the city and over the Mount of 
Olives, near to the village of Bethany. And he lifted up his hands 
in blessing upon them ; and while he was blessing them, he began 
to rise in the air, higher and higher, until a cloud covered him, 
and the disciples saw him no more. 

While they were looking up toward heaven, they found two 
men, like angels, with shining garments, standing by them. These 
men said : 

"O ye men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up into 




ET FULL 



heaven? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you, shall come 
again from heaven to earth, as you have seen him go up from earth 
to heaven!" 

Then the disciples were glad. They worshipped their risen 
Lord Jesus, now gone up to heaven; and they went again to 
Jerusalem. And they were constantly in the Temple, praising and 
giving thanks to God. 



Part Ser>entfy 
Stories of tfye (£ arly Cfyurcfy 



Story (Dm. 



THE CHURCH OF THE FIRST DAYS. 

Acts i : 12, to ii : 47. 




FTER the Lord Jesus had gone away to heaven, the 
eleven disciples and a small company of those who 
believed in Christ were left alone on the earth. But 
they were not sad, as we should have expected them 
to be. They were very happy, for their Lord had left 
with them his promise to send power from God upon them. Every 
lay they met together, and praised God, and prayed, in the large 
upper room where Jesus had taken his last supper with them. 

The eleven disciples chose a twelfth man to take the place 
which had belonged to Judas the traitor. His name was Matthias. 
With these were Mary, the mother of Jesus, and his brothers, and 
the women who had been at the cross and the tomb, and a number 
of others, men and women, who believed in Jesus as the Christ. 
The whole number of the company was one hundred and twenty 
people. In all the world these were all who at that time believed 
in Christ. 

Ten days after Jesus went away to heaven there came a day 
which the Jews called "The Day of Pentecost," or "The Fiftieth 
Day," for it was just fifty days after the Feast of the Passover. On 
that day the believers in Christ were all together in the upper room 
praying, when suddenly a sound was heard like the rushing of a 
mighty wind coming straight down from the sky. And what 
looked like tongues of fire seemed to be over the heads of all the 
company. Then the Spirit of God came upon them all, and they 
began to speak of Christ and of his gospel with a power that none 
of them had ever known before. 

This strange noise as of a sounding wind was heard all over the 

43 ( 6 73) 



674 The Church of the First Days 

city, and at once a great crowd of people came together at the place, 
to learn what the sound meant. There they saw these people, one 
hundred and twenty in number, singing, praising God, and telling 
of his wonderful works. And there was another marvelous thing. 
These people who had heard the noise, and had been drawn to the 
place, were Jews from many lands, who had come up to Jerusalem 
to worship, some from the lands far in the east, others from lands 
in the west, and others from isles of the sea. Every man heard 
these believers in Jesus speaking in the language of the land from 
which he had come ! It was as though in every tongue of the earth 
men were telling of God's wonderful work. 

"What does all this mean?" asked some; and others said, 
"These people act as though they were drunken with wine!" 

Then stood up Simon Peter, with the other apostles around 
him; for from that time the twelve disciples were called " apostles," 
which means "The men sent forth." because they were now sent 
out to win the world to Christ. Peter spoke in a loud voice to all 
the crowd of people, and said : 

"Ye men of Judea, and all ye that live in Jerusalem, listen to 
me. This which you see is what the prophet said long ago should, 
come to pass, that God would pour out his Spirit upon men. This 
is the great day of the Lord, when every one who shall call upon the 
Lord shall be saved. Jesus of Nazareth, one who wrought wonders 
and signs among you, you did put to death on the cross, by the 
hands of wicked men ; but God has raised him up from death. We 
who have seen him living declare this to you, that he whom you 
killed on the cross is now the Lord and the Christ." 

Then many of the people began to see how wicked had been 
the deed of their people in killing Jesus, whom God had sent to 
them as his Son ; and they cried out to Peter and to the other apos- 
tles, "Men and brethren, what shall we do?" 

And Peter answered them, "Turn away from your sins, believe 
in Jesus, and be baptized in his name ; and your sins shall be taken 
away, and you shall have this power of the Holy Spirit of God." 

Then a great many people believed in Jesus Christ as their 
Saviour, and were baptized by the apostles. And on that day three 
thousand were added to the Church of Christ. And they, too, met 
with the believers daily in the upper room, and worshipped in the 
Temple, and listened to the teaching of the apostles. 



At the Porch of the Temple 675 

And all the followers of Jesus were like one family of brothers 
and sisters. Those who had money gave it to help those who were 
in need, and some who had lands and houses sold them, and gave 
all for those who were poor. All were happy, praising God, loving 
and loved by each other. And every day more and more of those 
who were being saved were united to the Church. 



Story Ctt>o< 



THE MAN AT THE BEAUTIFUL GATE, 

Acts iii : 1 to 31. 




HE two apostles, Peter and John, were one day going 
up to the Temple at the afternoon hour of prayer, 
about three o'clock. They walked across the court 
of the Gentiles, which was a large open square paved 
with marble, having on its eastern side a double row 
of pillars with a roof above them, called Solomon's Porch. In front 
of this porch was the principal entrance to the Temple, through a 
gate which was called "The Beautiful Gate." At this gate, outside 
the Temple, they saw a lame man sitting. He was one who in all 
his life had never been able to walk ; and as he was very poor, his 
friends carried him every day to this place ; and there he sat, hoping 
that some of those who went into the Temple might take pity on 
him, and give him a little money. 

In front of this man Peter and John stopped ; and Peter said, 
"Look at us!" 

The lame man looked earnestly on the two apostles, thinking 
they were about to give him something. But Peter said : 

" Silver and gold have I none ; but what I have that I will give 
you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk!" 



676 The Man at the Beautiful Gate 

And Peter took hold of the lame man's right hand, and raised 
him up. At once the lame man felt a new power entering into his 
feet and ankle -bones. He leaped up, and stood upon his feet, and 
began to walk, as he had never done before in ail his life. He 
walked up the steps with the two apostles, and went by their side 
into the Temple, walking, and leaping, and praising God. The 
people who now saw him leaping up and running, knew him, for 
they had seen him every day sitting as a beggar at the Beautiful 
Gate; and every one was filled with wonder at the change which 
had come over him. 

After worshipping and praising God in the Temple, the man, 
still holding fast to Peter and John, went out with them through 
the Beautiful Gate into Solomon's Porch. And in a very few min- 
utes a great crowd of people were drawn together to the place to 
see the man who had been made well, and to see also the two men 
who had healed him. 

Then Peter stood up before the throng of people, and spoke to 
them. 

" Ye men of Israel," he said, "why do you look wondering on 
this man? or why do you fix your eyes upon us, as though by our 
own power or goodness we had made this man to walk? The God 
of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, has in this way shown the 
power and the glory of his Son Jesus ; whom you gave up to his 
enemies, and whom you refused before Pontius Pilate, when Pilate 
was determined to set him free. But you refused the Holy One and 
the Righteous One, and chose the murderer Barabbas to be set free 
in his place ; and you killed the Prince of life, whom God raised from 
the dead. We who have seen him risen, declare that this is true. 
And the power of Jesus, through faith in his name, has made this 
man strong. Yes, it is faith in Christ that has given him this per- 
fect soundness before you all. Now, my brothers, I am sure that 
you did not know that it was the Son of God and your own Saviour 
whom you sent to the cross. Therefore turn to God in sorrow for 
this great sin, and God will forgive you ; and in his own time he will 
send again Jesus Christ. God who has raised up his Son is ready 
to bless you, and turn away every one of you from his sins." 

While Peter was speaking, the priests, and the captain of the 
Temple, and the rulers, came upon them; for they were angry as 
they heard Peter speak these words. They laid hold of Peter and 




PETER AND JOHN AT THE BEAUTIFUL GATE 



The Rulers Troubled 



677 



John, and put them into the guard-room for the night. But many 
of those who had heard Peter speaking believed on Jesus, and sought 
the Lord ; and the number of the followers of Christ rose from three 
thousand to five thousand. 

On the next day the rulers came together; and Annas and 
Caiaphas, the two high priests, were there, and with them many 
of their friends. They brought Peter and John, and set them before 
the company. The lame man who had been healed was still by 
the side of the two apostles. The rulers asked them : 




PETER AND JOHN BEFORE THE RULERS. 

" By what power or through whom have you done this? " 
Then Peter spoke boldly to the priests and the rulers. He said : 
" Ye rulers of the people and elders, if you are asking us about 
the good deed done to this man who was so helpless, how it was 
that he was made well, I will tell you that by the name and the 
power of Jesus of Nazareth, whom you put to death on the cross, 
whom God raised from the dead ; even by him this man stands here 
before you all strong and well. And there is no salvation except 
through Jesus Christ, for there is no other person under heaven 
who can save us from our sins." 



678 The Man at the Beautiful Gate 

When these rulers saw how bold and strong were the words' of 
Peter and John, they wondered, especially as they knew that they 
were plain men, not learned in books, and not used to speaking. 
They remembered that they had seen these men among the fol- 
lowers of Jesus, and they felt that in some way Jesus had given 
them this power. And as the man who had been healed was stand- 
ing beside them, they could say nothing to deny that a wonderful 
work had been done. 

The rulers sent Peter and John out of the council-room, while 
they talked together. They said to each other : 

"What shall we do to these men? We cannot deny that a 
wonderful work has been done by them, for every one knows it. 

But we must stop this 
from spreading any more 
among the people. Let 
us command them not 
to speak to any man 
about the name of Jesus ; 
and let us tell them that 
if they do speak, we will 
punish them." 

So they called the 
two apostles into the 
room again, and said to them: "We forbid you to speak about 
Jesus, and the power of his name, to any man. If you do not 
stop talking about Jesus, we will lay hands on you, and put you 
in prison, and will have you beaten." 

But Peter and John answered the rulers : 

"Whether it is right to obey you or to obey God, you your- 
selves can judge. As for ourselves we cannot keep silent ; we must 
speak of what we have seen and heard." 

The rulers were afraid to do any harm to Peter and John, 
because they knew that the people praised God for the good work 
that they had done ; and they would be angry to have harm come 
to them. For fear of the people, they let them go. And being let 
go, they went to their own friends, the company who met in the 
upper room, and there they gave thanks to God for helping them 
to speak his word without fear. 




Story Cfyree. 



THE RIGHT WAY TO GIVE AND THE 
WRONG WAY. 

Acts iv : 32, to v : 42. 




N those early days the Church of Christ in Jerusalem 
was like a great family ; for each one was full of love 
for all the others. No one said of any thing that he 
owned, "This is- mine," but they had all things 
together, as belonging to all. Those who owned lands 
or houses sold them, and brought the money, and laid it down at 
the feet of the apostles. This was not because a rule was made 
commanding it; but because each member loved the rest, and 
wished to help them. The money that was given in this free way 
the apostles divided among those that were poor, so that no one 
among those who believed in Christ was in need. 

There was one man especially who gave away all that he had. 
to help the Church. His name was Joseph, but he was called " Bar- 
nabas," which means "The one who encourages," because he was 
so helpful and cheering in his words. Barnabas sold his land, and 
gave the money from it to the apostles, that they might help with 
it those who were poor ; and Barnabas spent all his time, as well as 
his money, in doing good. 

But there was another man in the Church at Jerusalem whose 
spirit was not that of Barnabas, to give up all and live fully for the 
Lord. This man, whose name was Ananias, wanted to have the 
name of giving all, while he kept a part for himself. Ananias sold 
some land which he had owned, and agreed with his wife Sapphira 
to give a part of the money to the apostles for the Church, and to 
keep back a part for themselves. This they had a right to do, or 
even to keep it all. But they agreed together to act as though they 
were giving all the money, and that was agreeing together to tell 
a lie. 

(679) 



680 The Right and Wrong Way to Give 

Ananias brought his money and laid it down before the apostles. 
But Peter, by the power of God, saw what was in the thought of 
Ananias, and said to him, ''Ananias, why has the evil spirit filled 
your heart to tell a lie by your act, iri keeping back part of the 
money? Before it was sold was not the land your own? And after 
it was sold, was not the money in your hand? You have tried to 
tell a lie, not to man, but to God ; and God will judge you." 

As Peter spoke these words, Ananias fell down before him, 
and in a moment was lying dead upon the floor. The young men 
in the meeting took up his dead body, and wrapped it with long 
rolls of cloth, and carried it out and buried it, as was the manner 
of the Jews. 

After three hours, Sapphira, the wife of Ananias, came into 
the room. She did not know that her husband was dead, for no 
one had told her ; such was the fear upon all. 

Peter said to her, " Tell me, did you sell the land for so much? " 
And he named the sum that Ananias had placed before him. 

Sapphira, said, "Yes, that was the price of the land." 

But Peter said to her, " How is it that you two people agreed 
together to bring down God's anger upon you? Those who have 
buried your husband are at the door, and they shall carry you 
out also!" 

Then Sapphira fell down, struck dead by the power of God. 
The young men coming in found her dead; and they carried out 
her body and buried it beside her husband. A great fear came 
upon all the church, and upon all who heard how Ananias and 
Sapphira died. After that no one dared to try and deceive the 
apostles in their gifts to the Lord's church. 

And every day the apostles went to the Temple ; and standing 
in Solomon's Porch, they preached to the people about Jesus, and 
salvation through his name. They wrought many wonders also in 
healing the sick. From the houses those that were sick were 
brought out into the street, lying on beds and couches, so that as 
the apostle Peter passed by, his shadow might fall on them. And 
from the villages around Jerusalem they brought people that had 
diseases, or were held by evil spirits ; and by the power of God in 
the apostles they were all made well. 

All these wonderful works brought great multitudes to hear 
the apostles, as they spoke in Solomon's Porch. Very many 



The Apostles Set Free 



681 



believed in Christ as they heard, and men and women in great 
numbers were added to the church. 

But all these things, the wonders wrought, the crowds brought 
together, and the people believing in Christ, gave great offence to 
the high-priest and the rulers: for they were the ones who had 
led in sending Jesus Christ to the cross, only a few months before. 
These rulers sent their officers, who seized all the twelve apostles, 
and thrust them into the common prison of the city. But at night, 
an angel of the Lord came, and opened the doors of the prison and 
brought the apostles out, and said : 

"Go, and stand in the Temple, and speak to the people all 
the words of 
this life." 

Then, very 
early in the 
morning, just 
at the break- 
ing of the day, 
they went into 
the Temple 
and preached 
to the people. 
On that day 
the high-priest 
and all the 
rulers met to- 
gether , and 

sent to the prison-house to have the apostles brought before them. 
But the officers who were sent did not find them in the prison. 
They came back to the rulers, and said : 

"The prison we found shut and locked, and the keepers 
standing at the doors; but when we opened the doors and went 
inside we found none of the prisoners there!" 

When the captain of the Temple and the rulers heard this 
they wondered greatly; for they could not understand it. Then 
came some one, who said, "The men whom you put in prison are 
standing in the Temple and are teaching the people!" 

Then the captain of the Temple went with his officers, and 
again took the apostles, but without doing them any harm, for 




DEATH OF ANANIAS. 



682 The Right and Wrong Way to Give 

they were afraid that the people would stone them if they dealt 
harshly with these men, whom all held in high honor. They brought 
them into the hall where the rulers were met together. The high- 
priest said to them : 

"We told you not to speak in this name, or about that man; 
and now you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and you 
are trying to bring the blood of this man upon us." 

But Peter, in the name of all the apostles, answered the 
high-priest : 

"We must obey God rather than men. You put Jesus to 
death, hanging him upon the cross. But the God of our fathers 
raised him from the dead, and lifted him up to be at his right hand 
as a Prince and a Saviour, to give the forgiveness of sins. And we 
declare these things; and God's Holy Spirit tells us that they 
are true." 

When the rulers heard these words they were made very angry, 
and thought of causing the apostles to be slain. But there was 
among them one very wise man, named Gamaliel, a man who was 
held in honor by all the people. Gamaliel asked to have the 
apostles sent out of the hall, while he would speak to the rulers. 
When the apostles were taken away, Gamaliel said : 

"Ye men of Israel, be careful in what you do to these men. 
If what they say comes from themselves alone, it will soon pass 
away; but if it be of God, you cannot destroy it, and you may 
even find yourselves to be fighting against God. My advice to 
you is : do no harm to these men, and leave them alone. ' ' 

The rulers agreed with these words. They sent for the apostles, 
and caused them to be beaten ; then they commanded them again 
not to speak in the name of Jesus, and they let them go. The 
apostles went forth from the meeting of the rulers, happy in suffering 
for the name of Jesus. And in the Temple and among the homes 
of the people they did not cease from preaching Jesus as the Saviour 
and the Lord. 



Story £our. 



STEPHEN WITH THE SHINING FACE. 

Acts vi : i, to viii : 3. 




,E have read how the members of the church in Jerusa- 
lem gave their money freely to help the poor. This 
free giving led to trouble, as the church grew so fast ; for 
some of the widows who were poor were passed by ; and 
their friends made complaints to the apostles. The 
twelve apostles called the whole church together, and said: 

"It is not well, that w r e should turn aside from preaching and 
teaching the word of God, to sit at tables and give out money. 
But, brethren, choose from among yourselves seven good men, 
men who have the Spirit of God and are wise, and we will give 
this work to them; so that we can spend our time in prayer and 
in preaching the gospel." 

This plan was pleasing to all the church ; and they chose seven 
men, to take charge of the gifts of the people, and to see that they 
were sent to those who were in need. The first man chosen was 
Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Spirit of God ; and with him 
were Philip and five other good men. These seven men they 
brought before the apostles; and the apostles laid their hands on 
their heads, setting them apart for their work of caring for the poor. 
But Stephen did more than to look after the needy ones. He 
began to preach, the gospel of Christ ; and to preach with such power 
as made every one who heard him feel the truth. Stephen saw 
before any other man in the church saw, that the gospel of Christ 
was not for Jews only, but for all men; that all men might be 
saved if they would believe in Jesus ; and this great truth Stephen 
began to preach with all his power. 

Such preaching as this, that men who were not Jews might be 
saved by believing in Christ, made many of the Jews very angry. 
They called all the people who were not Jews "Gentiles," and they 
looked upon them with hate and scorn ; but they could not answer 

(68 S ) 



68 4 



Stephen With the Shining Face 



the words that Stephen spoke. They roused up the people and the 
rulers, and set them against Stephen, and at last they seized Stephen, 
and brought him before the great council of the rulers. They said 
to the rulers : 

"This man is always speaking evil words against the Temple 
and against the law of Moses. We heard him say that Jesus of 

Nazareth shall destroy this place, 
and shall change the laws that 
Moses gave to us!" 

This was partly true and 
partly false ; but no lie is so harm- 
ful as that which has a little truth 
with it. Then the high-priest said 
to Stephen, "Are these things so?" 










STEPHEN FELL ASLEEP. 



And as Stephen stood up to answer the high-priest all fixed 
their eyes upon him; and they saw that his face was shining, as 
though it was the face of an angel. Then Stephen began to speak 
of the great things that God had done for his people of Israel in the 
past; how he had called Abraham, their father, to go forth into a 
new land ; how he had given them great men, as Joseph, and Moses, 



The Young Man Saul 685 

and the prophets. He showed them how the Israelites had not 
been faithful to God who had given them such blessings. Then 
Stephen said: 

" You are a people with hard hearts and stiff necks, who will not 
obey the words of God and his Spirit. As your fathers did, so you 
do also. Your fathers killed the prophets whom God sent to 
them; and you have slain Jesus, the Righteous One!" 

As they heard these things, they became so angry against 
Stephen that they gnashed on him with their teeth, like wild 
beasts. But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up toward 
heaven with his shining face; and he saw the glory of God, and 
Jesus standing on God's right hand, and he said : 

"I see the heavens opened and the Son of man standing on 
the right hand of God ! " 

But they cried out with angry voices, and rushed upon him, and 
dragged him out of the council-room, and outside the wall of the 
city. And there they threw stones upon him to kill him, while 
Stephen was kneeling down among the falling stones and praying : 

"Lord Jesus, receive my spirit! Lord, lay not this sin up 
against them ! " 

And when he had said this he fell asleep in death, the first to 
be slain for the gospel of Christ. 

Among those who stoned Stephen was a young man named 
Saul. He showed his fierce hate against Stephen and against the 
gospel which Stephen preached by holding the loose garments which 
the slayers of Stephen flung off, so that they might the more easily 
throw the stones upon him. Saul had heard Stephen speak; and 
he saw his glorious face, but he gave his help to those who killed 
him. And after Stephen had been slain, Saul went out to seize 
those who believed in Christ. He dragged men and women out of 
their houses, and thrust them into prison. He went into the syna- 
gogues and seized them as they were worshipping, and stripped off 
their garments, and caused them to be beaten. 

By the hands of Saul and those who were with him the church 
of Christ, where so many had lived in love and peace, was broken up, 
and its members were scattered far and wide over the lands. The 
apostles stayed in the city, and no harm came to them, for they were 
kept hidden, but all the rest of the believers were driven away ; and 
for the time the church of Christ seemed to have come to an end. 



Story $ive. 



THE MAN READING IN THE CHARIOT. 

Acts viii : 4 to 40. 




^E have seen how the first church of those who believed 
in Christ was broken up, and its members were driven 
away by the fury and rage of its enemy, the young 
man Saul. But as those who were scattered went into 
other places, they told the people about Christ and his 
gospel. And very soon new companies of believers in Christ began 
to rise up, all over the land. In place of one church in Jerusalem 
there were many churches among its cities and villages of Judea. 
Thus Saul, for all his hate toward Christ, really helped in spreading 
the gospel of Christ. 

Among those driven away by Saul was a man named Philip, 
not Philip the apostle, but another Philip, who had been one of 
those chosen with Stephen to care for the poor. This Philip went 
down to the city of Samaria, near the middle of the land ; and there 
he began to tell the people about Christ. These people were not 
Jews, but were of the race called Samaritans. The woman of 
Samaria, with whom Jesus talked at Jacob's well, as we read in 
Story Eight of Part Sixth, was of this people. 

The Lord gave to Philip the power to work many wonders 
among these Samaritans. At Philip's word, evil spirits came out 
of men. Those who had the palsy were cured, and the lame were 
made to walk. The Samaritans saw these things done by Philip, 
and they believed that he spoke to them the words of God. Very 
many of them became believers in Christ, and were baptized ; and 
there was great joy in that city. 

At that time there was in Samaria a certain man named Simon, 
who had made the people believe that he had great power and 
could do wonderful things, by some magic that he used. But the 
works wrought by Philip through the power of Christ were so 
much greater and more wonderful than his own, that Simon himself 

(686) 



Trying to Buy the Spirit 687 

listened to the teaching of Philip, claimed to believe in Jesus, and 
was baptized. But his heart had not been touched; he thought 
only that Philip's magic was better than his own, and he hoped to 
find out what it was, so that he too could use it. 

The twelve apostles, you remember, were still in Jerusalem; 
for they did not leave the city when Saul broke up the church. 
After a time Saul ceased to trouble, and some of the believers began 
to go back to Jerusalem. A new church grew up in that city 
around the apostles, though it never became as large or as whole- 
hearted as had been the church of the early days. 

News came to the apostles of the great work wrought by 
Philip in Samaria, and they sent Peter and John to visit the new 
church in that place. Peter and John came to Samaria, and were 
glad when they saw how many and how faithful were the believers 
in Christ. They prayed for them, that the same power of the Holy 
Spirit that had come upon the disciples in Jerusalem might come 
upon those in Samaria ; and the power of the Lord came when the 
apostles laid their hands on the heads of the believers. 

When Simon saw that this strange power of God came with the 
laying on of the apostle's hands, he offered Peter and John money, 
saying to them, "Sell me this power, so that I may give the Holy 
Spirit to those on whom I lay my hands." 

But Peter said to him, "May your silver perish with you if 
you think to buy the gift of God with money! You do not really 
belong to Christ, and your heart is not right with God. Turn 
away from this your sin, and pray God that he will forgive you. 
For I see that you are yet in your sins, sins that are as bitter as 
gall; and you are fast bound in evil as with a chain!" 

Simon could not understand this, but he said, "Pray for me 
to the Lord, that none of these evils that you have named come 
upon me!" 

After this Peter and John preached among many villages of 
'the Samaritans, and then they went back to Jerusalem. Philip's 
work in Samaria was now done, and an angel of the Lord spoke 
to him, saying: 

"Rise up, and leave this city; and go toward the south, on 
the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza." 

This was a road through a desert region, without villages or 
people; but Philip at once obeyed the word that came from the 



688 The Man Reading in the Chariot 

Lord. He left Samaria and walked southward, until he came to 
the road between Jerusalem and Gaza. While he was on this 
desert road he saw a chariot drawing near, and in it was seated a 
black man reading from a roll. This man had come from the land 
of Ethiopia, in Africa, far to the south of Egypt. He was a noble- 
man of very high rank, the treasurer of the queen in that land; 
and though he was not a Jew, he had taken a journey of more than 
a thousand miles to Jerusalem, riding in his chariot all the way, 
that he might worship God in his Temple. He was now going 
back to his own land, and in his hands was the roll of the prophet 
Isaiah, from which he was reading aloud while he was riding on 
his journey. 

As the chariot of this black man came in sight, the Spirit of 
the Lord said to Philip, "Go near, and stand close by the chariot." 

And Philip ran toward the chariot, and spoke to the man, and 
said, "Do you understand what you are reading?" 

The nobleman answered him, " How can I understand it, unless 
some one tells me what it means? Can you show me? If you can, 
come up into the chariot and sit with me." 

Then Philip came up and sat down in the chariot. The place 
where he was reading was the fifty-third chapter of Isaiah, with 
words like these : 

"He was led as a sheep to the slaughter, 
And as a lamb before his shearer is dumb, 
So he openeth not his mouth. 
His story who shall tell? 
For his life is taken from the earth." 

These are the words that the prophet spoke of Jesus many 
hundreds of years before he came to the earth. Philip began with 
those words, and told the Ethiopian nobleman all about Christ. 
And the man believed, and took into his heart the word of the 
Lord. As they went on the way, they came to some water, and 
the nobleman said, "See, here is water! Why may I not be 
baptized?" 

And Philip said to him, "If you believe with all your heart, 
you may be baptized." 

And he answered, " I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of 
God." 



Saul Goes to Damascus 689 

Then the nobleman gave order for the chariot to stand still; 
and Philip and the man went down into the water t gether, and 
he baptized him as a follower of Christ. And when they came up 
out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord took Philip away, so that 
the nobleman saw him no more; but he went on his way home, 
happy in the Lord. 

Philip went next to a city near the shore, and there he preached ; 
and from that place he went northward through the cities by the 
Great Sea, preaching in them all, until he came to Caesarea, and at 
Caesarea he stayed for many years. 



Stov\$ Six, 



THE VOICE THAT SPOKE TO SAUL, 

Acts ix : 1 to 31 ; xxii : i to 21 ; Galatians i : 11 to 24. 




AUL, the young man who had taken part in the slaying 
of Stephen, and who had scattered abroad the believers 
in Christ, was still the bitter enemy of the gospel. 
He heard that some of those who had fled away from 
Jerusalem had gone to Damascus, a city outside of 
the Jewish land, far in the north, and that there they were still 
at work teaching Christ. Saul made up his mind to destroy this 
new church in Damascus, as he thought he had destroyed the 
church in Jerusalem. So he went to the high-priest, and said : 

"" Let me have a letter to the chief of the Jews in Damascus. I 
have heard that there are some followers of Jesus of Nazareth in that 
city; and I will go with some men, and will take these people, and 
bind them, and bring them in chains to Jerusalem." 

The high-priest gave to Saul the letters that he asked for, and 
Saul found a band of men to go with him to Damascus. It was a 
journey of about ten days, riding on horses or mules. While Saul 
44 



690 The Voice that Spoke to Saul 

was on his way to Damascus he had time to think about Christ and 
his gospel. He saw again in his mind Stephen's shining face, and 
heard his words, he thought of the sweet and patient way in which 
the followers of Jesus had met their sufferings and their wrongs at 
his hand. Deep in Saul's heart there arose a feeling which he could 
not put down, that the gospel of Christ was true, and that it was 
wicked for him to fight against it. Yet he still went on, firm in his 
purpose to destroy the Church of Christ. 

At last he came near to Damascus. Suddenly, at full noon, a 
light flashed from heaven, brighter far than the sun. For the time 
the light blinded Saul's eyes, and it came so suddenly upon him that 
like a bolt of lightning it struck him down, and he fell upon the 
ground. In the midst of the light Saul saw One whom he had never 
seen before. And a strange voice came to him, saying, " Saul, Saul, 
why are you fighting against me ? ' ' 

And Saul answered the voice, "Who art thou, Lord?" Then 
the answer came, ''I am Jesus, whom you are trying to destroy!" 

Then, trembling with surprise and alarm, Saul said, "Lord, 
what wilt thou have me to do ? " 

And the Lord said to Saul, " Rise up, and go into the city, and 
it shall be told thee what thou must do." 

Those who were with Saul wondered, for they had seen a light, 
and had heard a sound ; but had beheld no face, and had heard no 
words; for the vision of Christ had come to Saul alone. They 
raised him up from the ground, and found that his eyes had been 
made blind by the brightness of the light. They led him by the 
hand into the city, and took him to the house of a man named Judas. 
There Saul stayed for three days in the deepest suffering of mind and 
body. He could see nothing, and he neither ate nor drank. But in 
the darkness he was praying to God and to Christ with all his heart. 

In the city of Damascus there was a follower of Christ named 
Ananias, a good man, held in respect by all who knew him. To this 
Ananias the Lord spoke, calling him by name, "Ananias." 

And Ananias answered, " Here I am, Lord." 

And the Lord said to Ananias, "Rise, and go into the street 
named Straight, and find the house of Judas ; and in that house ask 
for a man named Saul from Tarsus. This man Saul is praying ; and 
in a vision he has seen a man named Ananias coming into his room, 
and laying his hands on him, to give him his sight." 



Ananias of Damascus 



691 



This command from the Lord was a surprise to Ananias. He 
answered the Lord, " Lord, I have heard from many people about 
this man Saul; what great evil he has done to all thy people in 
Jerusalem; and here he has an order from the high-priest to bind 
and to carry away all who call upon thy name ! Shall I go and visit 
such a man as he?" . 

But the Lord said to Ananias, " Go thy way; for I have chosen 
this man to bear my name before the people of all nations, and kings, 




SAUL HEARS A STRANGE VOICE. 

and the children of Israel. And I will show him how many things 
he must suffer for my sake." 

Then Ananias went, as the Lord had bidden him. He found 
the house, and he came to Saul. He laid his hands on the head of 
Saul, and he said, " Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who met you in 
the way as you were coming, has sent me, that you may have your 
sight, and that the Holy Spirit may come upon you. Now, wait no 
longer, but rise up, and be baptized, and call upon the name of Jesus, 
who will wash away your sin? " 



692 The Voice that Spoke to Saul 

Then there fell from the eyes of Saul what seemed like scales, 
and at once his sight came to him. Saul was baptized as one who 
believed in Christ, and food was given him, and he became strong 
in body and in soul. Saul had gone forth to bind the disciples of 
Christ in Damascus ; but now he came among them, no more as an 
enemy, but as a brother. And he went into the synagogues where 
the Jews worshipped in Damascus, and began to preach Jesus to 
them, declaring that Jesus is the Christ and the Son of God. And 
all that heard him were amazed, and they said to each other, " Is 
not this the same man who in Jerusalem wrought ruin among them 
who believed in this name? And did he not come to this place, 
intending to bind the believers in Jesus, and bring them before the 
chief priests?" 

And Saul grew stronger and stronger in his spirit and in his 
words. None of the Jews in Damascus could answer him, as he 
showed that Jesus is the Anointed One, the Christ ? But he did not 
stay long in Damascus. After a time he left the city, and went 
away to a quiet place in the desert of Arabia, where he stayed for 
a year or longer, thinking upon the gospel and learning from the 
Lord. 

And again Saul came to Damascus, and again he preached 
Christ and salvation through his name, not only for Jews, but for 
Gentiles, all people besides the Jews. This made the Jews in 
Damascus very angry. They formed a plan to kill Saul, and they 
watched the gates day and night, hoping to seize him as he went 
out. But Saul's friends, the disciples of Jesus, brought him by 
night to a house on the wall, and let him down in a basket to the 
ground, so that he escaped from his enemies and went away in 
safety. 

Saul now journeyed back to Jerusalem. He had left it three 
years before, a bitter enemy of Christ ; he came to it again a follower 
of Christ. But when Saul sought to join the believers in Jerusalem, 
they were all afraid of him; for they could not believe that one 
whom they had known as the fierce destroyer of the church was 
now a friend to Jesus. Then Barnabas, the man who had given 
all his land to the church, as we read in Story Three, believed in 
Saul when he heard his story, and brought him to Peter, and told 
how he had seen the Lord in the way, and how boldly he had 
preached in Damascus in the name of Jesus. 



The Voice Speaks to Saul Again 



693 



Then Peter took the hand of Saul, and received him as a 
disciple of Christ. For a few weeks Saul stayed in Jerusalem ; and 
he preached in the synagogues of the Jews, as Stephen had. preached 
before, that Jesus is the Saviour not only of Jews but also of Gentiles 
("Gentiles" was the name that Jews gave to people of every other 
nation except their own) . 

When Saul preached that Gentiles might be saved in Jesus 
Christ, it made the Jews angry, just as it had made Saul himself 
angry in other days to hear Stephen preach this same gospel. They 
would not listen to Saul, and 
they sought to kill him, as 
they had killed Stephen. One 
day Saul was praying in the 
Temple, and the Lord came 
to him once again, and Saul 




THE WALL WHERE SAUL WAS LET DOWN IN A BASKET, AS SHOWN TO-DAY - 



saw Jesus and heard his voice saying, " Make haste, and go quickly 
out of Jerusalem, for the people here will not believe your words 
about me." 

Then Saul said to the Lord, " Lord, they know that I put into 
prison and beat in the synagogues those who believed on thee. And 
when thy servant Stephen was slain I was standing by and was 
keeping the garments of those who stoned him." 

And the Lord said to Saul, "Go from this place; for I will 
send thee far away to preach to the Gentiles." 

Then Saul knew that his work was not to preach the gospel to 



6 9 4 



The Voice that Spoke to Saul 




DAMASCUS. 



the Jews, but to the Gentiles, the people of other nations. The 

disciples in Jerusalem helped him to get away from his enemies in 

the city, and led him down to a place called Caesarea, on the sea- 
shore. There Saul 
found a ship sailing 
to Tarsus, a city in 
Asia Minor. Tarsus 
was Saul's birthplace 
and his early home. 
He went again to this 
place, and in that city 
he stayed for a few 
years, safe from the 
Jews. He was a 
tent-maker, and he 
worked at his trade 

while preaching the gospel in Tarsus. And we may be sure that 

Saul would not be silent about the good news of the gospel. He 

preached in Tarsus 

and in all the places 

near it. 

Now that Saul 

the enemy had be- 
come Saul the friend 

of the gospel, all the 

churches in Judea, 

and Samaria, and 

Galilee, had rest and 

peace. The followers 

of Christ could preach 

without fear ; and the 

number of those who believed grew rapidly, for the Lord was 

with them. 

All through the land, from Galilee down to the desert on the 

south, there were meetings of those who believed in Jesus as the 

Saviour, and the apostles Peter and John went among them to 

teach them the way of life. 




TARSUS. 



Story Seven. 



WHAT PETER SAW BY THE SEA. 

Acts ix : 32, to xi : 18. 




I S the church was now planted in many cities throughout 
the land of the Jews, Peter, who was a leader among 
the apostles, went from place to place visiting the 
believers in Christ and preaching the gospel. At one 
time Peter went down to the plain beside the Great 
Sea, and came to a city called Lydda. There Peter found a man 
named Aeneas, who had the palsy, and could not walk, and had 
been lying on his bed eight years. Peter said to him, "Aeneas, 
Jesus Christ makes you well; rise up, and roll up your bed." 

Then at once Aeneas arose, and was well ; and he took up the 
roll of matting on which he had been lying so long, and laid it 
away. All the people in Lydda and in Sharon heard of this great 
work, and many turned to the Lord. 

There had been living at Joppa, not far from Lydda, a very 
good woman, whom everybody loved. She was called "The 
Gazelle," which is the name of a beautiful animal, like a deer. 
For her name in Hebrew was Tabitha, and in Greek was Dorcas, 
words which mean "Gazelle." Tabitha, or Dorcas, was a believer 
in Christ, and like her Lord, she loved the poor and helped them, 
by her work and by her gifts. 

While Peter was at Lydda, Dorcas was taken ill and died. 
They laid her body in an upper room, and then they sent two men 
to Lydda for Peter, begging him to come without delay. Peter 
went to Joppa at once ; and when he came to the house where the 
body of Dorcas was lying he found the room filled with widows 
and poor women, who were weeping, and showing the garments 
which Dorcas had made for them. 

But Peter sent them all out of the room; and when he was 
alone with the body of Dorcas, he knelt down and prayed. Then 
he turned to the body and said, "Tabitha, arise!" 

(695) 



696 What Peter Saw by the Sea 

And she opened her eyes ; and when she saw Peter she sat. up. 
Peter took her by the hand, and raised her up ; then he called into 
the room the widows and the believers in Christ, and showed Dorcas 
to them, alive and well. The news of this wonderful work, of life 
given to the dead, amazed all the city of Joppa, and led many to 
believe in Christ. Peter stayed many days in Joppa, at the house 
of a man named Simon, who was a tanner, and lived near the sea. 

At that time an officer of the Roman army was at Caesarea, 
about thirty miles north of Joppa, beside the Great Sea. His name 
was Cornelius; and he was the commander of a company of a 
hundred soldiers. We would call such an officer "a captain," but 
in the Roman army he was called "a centurion." The centurion 
Cornelius was not a Jew, but a Gentile, which was the name that 
the Jews gave to all people except themselves. Yet Cornelius did 
not worship idols, as did most of the Gentiles. He prayed always 
to the God of Israel, and feared God, and gave to the poor; and 
he taught his family to worship the Lord. 

One day, in the afternoon, Cornelius was praying in his house, 
when an angel came to him and called him by name, ''Cornelius!" 
Cornelius looked at this strange and shining being, and he was 
filled with fear, but he said, "What is it, Lord?" 

And the angel said to him, " Cornelius, the Lord has seen your 
gifts to the people and has heard all your prayers. Now send men 
to Joppa, and let them bring to you a man named Simon Peter. 
He is staying in the house of Simon the tanner, who lives by the 
sea." 

Then the angel passed out of sight, and Cornelius called two 
servants and a soldier who worshipped the Lord. He told them 
what the angel had said, and sent them to Joppa for Peter. These 
men travelled all night, following the road southward by the Great 
Sea, and about noon of the next day they drew near to Joppa. 

On that day, just before these men came to Joppa at noon, 
Peter went up to the roof of the house to pray. He became very 
hungry, and wished for food; but while they were making ready 
the dinner he fell into a strange sleep, and a vision came to him. In 
his vision he saw what seemed to be a great sheet let- down by its 
four corners from above. In it he saw all kinds of beasts, and birds, 
and creeping things. Some of these were animals and birds that 
the Jews were allowed to eat ; but many others were of kinds that 



— m ;> J II IJJIipiHiliii 




The Vision of the Great Sheet 



6 97 



the old law forbade the Jews to eat ; and such as were forbidden, the 
Jews called "common" and "unclean." Peter saw in this great 
sheet many beasts, and birds, and creeping things that in his sight 
were common and unclean. As he looked, he heard a voice saying 
to him, "Rise, Peter; kill and eat." 

Peter had always been very strict in keeping the Jewish rules 
about food, and 
he answered, "Not 
so, Lord; for I 
have never eaten 
anything common 
or unclean." 

Then he heard 
the voice saying to 
him, "What God 
has made clean, 
do not thou make 
common or un- 
clean." 

Three times 
Peter heard these 
words spoken, and 
then the great 
sheet with all the 
living creatures in 
it was lifted up to 
heaven and passed 
out of his sight. 
Peter knew at 
once that the 
vision and the 
words which he 
had heard must 

have a great meaning ; but as he thought upon it he could not see 
what the meaning was. While he was thinking of the vision and 
wondering at it, the Spirit of the Lord spoke to him, saying, " Peter, 
three men are looking for you. Go down to the door and meet 
them; and go with them, without doubting, for I have sent them." 

Just at that moment the three men from Caesarea knocked at 




DORCAS HELPING THE POOR 



698 What Peter Saw by the Sea 

the door, and asked for Simon Peter. Peter met them, and said to 
them, " I am here, the man whom you are looking for. For what 
reason have you come to me?" 

And they said, " Cornelius, a centurion at Caesarea, a good man, 
one that fears God, and is well spoken of by all the Jews, was yester- 
day commanded by a holy angel to send for you, and to listen to 
words from you." 

Then Peter called the men into the house, and heard all their 
story, and kept them there that night. On the next morning he 
went with them, and some of the believers from the church of Joppa 
went with the party. On the next day they came to Caesarea, and 
entered into the house of Cornelius. There they found Cornelius 
waiting for them, and with him a number of his family and his 
friends. As Peter came into the room, Cornelius fell down at his 
feet, and was about to worship him ; but Peter raised him up, saying, 
" Stand up ; I myself, also, am a man, and not God." 

And as Peter looked around he saw many people that had met 
together ; and they were all Gentiles, men who were not Jews. And 
Peter said, " You know that it is against the law of the Jews for a 
man that is a Jew to come into the house with one of another nation, 
or to meet with him. But God has showed me that I should not 
call any man common or unclean. For this reason I came at once 
when I was sent for. Now I ask for what purpose you have sent 
for me." 

Then Cornelius said, "Four days ago I was praying, at three 
o'clock in the afternoon, when a man stood by me, clad in shining 
garments, and he said to me, 'Cornelius, your prayer is. heard, and 
your good deeds are known to God. Send now to Joppa, and send 
for Simon, who is called Peter.' I sent at once for you, and you 
have done well to come so soon. Now we are all here before God, 
to hear whatever God has given to you to speak to us." 

Then Peter opened his mouth, and began to speak ; for he saw 
now what the vision meant which he had seen on the housetop. He 
said, " I see now that God cares for all men alike, not for the people 
of one nation only ; but that in every nation those that fear God and 
do right are pleasing to him." Then Peter began to tell the story 
of Jesus ; how he lived, how he did good works, how he died, how 
he rose again, and how in Jesus Christ every one who believes may 
have his sins forgiven. 



The Good News of Salvation 



699 



While Peter was speaking the Holy Spirit fell on all who were 
in the room. And the Jews who were with Peter were amazed as 
they saw the Spirit of God given to Gentiles, men who were not 
Jews. Then Peter said, ''Can any man forbid that these should 
be baptized with water, upon whom the Spirit has come, as he came 
upon us?" 

Then by Peter's command these Gentile believers with Corne- 
lius were baptized as members of Christ's Church. And Peter 
stayed with them a few days, living with Cornelius, and eating at 
his table, though he was a Gentile, something Avhich Peter would 
never before have thought it right for him to do. Soon the news 
went through all the churches in Judea that Gentiles had heard the 
word, and had been baptized. At first the Jewish believers could 
not believe that this should be allowed; but when Peter had told 
them all the story of Cornelius and the angel, of his own vision of 
the great sheet full of animals, and of the Spirit coming upon the 
Gentiles, then they all praised God, and said, "So to the Gentiles, 
as well as to the Jews, God has given to turn from their sins, and 
to be saved in Jesus Christ, and to have everlasting life." 




LYDDA AS SEEN TO-DAY. 



Stovy €tgfyt. 



HOW THE IRON GATE WAS OPENED 

Acts xii : i to 24. 




pU remember that in the years while Jesus was 
teaching, Jerusalem and the part of the land near 
it was ruled by a Roman governor, whose name was 
Pilate; and that he was the ruler who sent Jesus 
Christ to the cross. After some years, the emperor 
at Rome, who ruled all the lands around the Great Sea, gave all the 
country of the Jews to a man named Herod Agrippa, and made him 
King of Judea. He was the nephew of the Herod who killed John 
the Baptist, as was told in Story Eighteen of Part Sixth, and 
the grandson of the other Herod who killed all the little children of 
Bethlehem, in trying to kill the little child Jesus, as we read in Story 
Three of Part Sixth. Herod Agrippa was the King of Judea when 
Peter saw the vision on the housetop, and preached to the Gentiles, 
as we read in the last Story. 

Herod wished to please the Jews in Jerusalem ; and he seized 
one of the apostles, James, the brother of John, one of the three 
disciples who had been nearest to Jesus. He caused his guards to 
kill James with the sword, just as John the Baptist had been killed 
by his uncle, Herod Antipas. When he saw how greatly this act 
pleased the chief priests and rulers, he laid hands on Simon Peter 
also, and put him in prison, intending at the next feast of the Pass- 
over to lead him forth, and to put him to death. 

Peter, therefore, was kept in the prison, with sixteen soldiers 
around the prison to guard him, four soldiers watching him all the 
time ; but all the church prayed very earnestly to God for him. On 
the night before the day when Peter was to be brought out to die, 
he was sleeping in the prison, bound with two chains, while guards 
before the door were watching. Suddenly a bright light shone in 
Peter's cell, and an angel from the Lord stood by him. The angel 
struck him on the side, and awoke him, and said, " Rise up quickly.'* 

(700) 



An Angel Comes to the Prison 701 

And as Peter awaked and stood up, his chains fell from his 
hands. And the angel said to him : 

"Tie your girdle about your waist, and bind your sandals on 
your feet." 

And Peter did as he was told, scarcely knowing what he was 
doing. Then the angel said : 

"Wrap your cloak around you, and follow me." 

And Peter followed the angel, thinking that, he was dreaming. 








AN ANGEL ENTERS THE PRISON CELL. 

They passed the first guard of the soldiers, and the second ; but no 
one stirred to hinder them. Then they came to the great iron gate 
on the outside of the prison ; and this opened to them, as if unseen 
hands were turning it. They went out of the prison into the city, 
and passed through one street. Then the angel left Peter as sud- 
denly as he had come to him. By this time Peter was fully awake, 
and he said: 

" Now I am sure that the Lord has sent his angel, and has set 
me free from the power of King Herod." 



702 How the Iron Gate was Opened 

Peter thought of what he should do, and where he should go , 
and he turned toward the house of a woman named Mary, who 
was near of kin to Barnabas ; and who had a son named John Mark, 
then a young man, the same who many years afterward wrote "the 
Gospel according to Mark." At Mary's house many were met 
together, and they were praying for Peter. 

Peter came to the house and knocked on the outside door, and 
called to those who were within. A young woman named Rhoda 
came to the door. She listened, and at once knew the voice of Peter. 
So glad was she, that she did not think to open the door, but ran 
into the house, and told them all that Peter was standing at the door. 
They said to her, "You are crazed!" 

But she said that she was sure that Peter was there, for she 
knew his voice. And then they said : 

" It must be an angel who has taken Peter's form!" 

But Peter kept on knocking; and when at last they opened 
the door, and saw him, they were filled with wonder. With his hand 
he beckoned to them to listen ; and he told them how the Lord had 
brought him out of the prison. And Peter said to them: 

"Tell these things to James and to the other apostles." 

And then he went away to a place where Herod and his men 
could not find him. The morning came, and there was a great stir 
among the soldiers, as to what had become of Peter. Herod the 
king sought for Peter, but could not find him ; and in his anger he 
ordered that the guards in the prison should be put to death. And 
not long after this Herod himself died so suddenly that many 
believed his death came from the wrath of God upon him. So 
Herod perished; but Peter, whom he sought to kill, lived many 
years, working for Christ. 

The James of whom Peter spoke, when he said, "Tell these 
things to James," was not James the apostle, the brother of John, 
for already that James had been put to death by Herod. He spoke 
of another James, a son of Joseph and Mary, a younger brother of 
Jesus, one who was always called "the Lord's brother." This 
James was a very holy man ; and a leader of the church in Jerusa- 
lem, where he lived many years. Some time after this James wrote 
the book of the New Testament called "The Epistle of James/' 



Story €igfyt. 



THE EARLIEST MISSIONARIES. 

Acts xi : 19 to 30 ; xiii : 1, to xiv : 28. 




»E have seen how, after the death of Stephen, those who 
were driven out of . Jerusalem went everywhere telling 
of Jesus. Some of these men travelled as far as to 
Antioch in Syria, which was a great city, far in the 
north, two hundred and fifty miles from Jerusalem. 
At first they spoke only to Jews, preaching the word of Christ ; but 
soon many Gentiles, people who were not Jews, heard about the 
gospel and wished to have it preached also to them. So these men 
began preaching to the Gentiles, telling them about Jesus Christ 
and how to be saved. 

The Lord was with the gospel, and in a little time many 
believed in Christ, a great number, both of Jews and Gentiles. 
Thus at Antioch in Syria arose a church where Jews and Gentiles 
worshipped together and forgot that they had ever been apart. 
The news came to the mother-church in Jerusalem, that in Antioch 
Gentiles were coming to Christ. As all the followers of Christ in 
Jerusalem were Jews, they were not sure whether Jews and Gentiles 
could worship together as one people. It was decided, after a time, 
that some wise man should go from Jerusalem to Antioch and see 
this new church of Jews and Gentiles. For this errand, they chose 
Barnabas, the good man who had given his land to be sold to help 
the poor, and who had brought Saul to the church when the disciples 
were afraid of him. So Barnabas took the long journey from 
Jerusalem to Antioch. When he saw these new disciples, so many, 
so strong in their love for Christ, so united in their spirit, and so 
earnest in the gospel, he was glad, and he spoke to them all, telling 
them to stand fast in the Lord. For Barnabas was a good man, 
full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. 

The church at Antioch was growing so fast that it needed men 
for leaders and teachers. Barnabas thought of Saul, who had once 

(703) 



704 The Earliest Missionaries 

been an enemy, but was now a follower of Christ. Saul was at 
that time in Tarsus, his early home; and to this place Barnabas 
went to find him. He brought Saul to Antioch, and there Barnabas 
and Saul stayed together for a year, preaching to the people and 
teaching those who believed in Christ. It was at Antioch that the 
disciples were first called by the name Christians. 

At one time some men came from Jerusalem to Antioch, to 
whom God had showed things that should come to pass. These 
men were prophets, speaking from God. One of them, a man 
named Agabus, said through the Spirit of God, that a great famine, 
a need of food, was soon to come upon all the lands. This came 
as Agabus the prophet had said, in the days when Claudius was 
emperor at Rome. Over all the lands food was very scarce, and 
many suffered from hunger. When the followers of Christ in 
Antioch heard that their brethren of Jerusalem and Judea were in 
need, they gave money, as each one was able, to help them; and 
they sent Barnabas and Saul with it. Barnabas and Saul carried 
the gifts of the church to Jerusalem, and stayed there for a time. 
When they went back to Antioch, they took with them the young 
man John Mark, the son of the Mary to whose house Peter went 
when he was set free from prison, as we read in the last story. 

Some time after they returned to Antioch, the Lord called 
Barnabas and Saul to go forth and preach the good news of Christ 
to the people in other lands. At one time, when the members of 
the church were praying together, the Spirit of the Lord spoke to 
them, saying, "Set Barnabas and Saul apart for a special work to 
which I have called them." 

Then the leaders of the church at Antioch prayed, and laid 
their hands on the head of Barnabas and Saul. And Barnabas 
and Saul went forth, taking with them John Mark, the young man 
from Jerusalem, as their helper. • They went down to the shore of 
the Great Sea at Selucia, and took a ship, and sailed to the island 
of Cyprus. In that island they visited all the cities, and preached 
Christ in all the synagogues of the Jews. 

At a place called Paphos, in the west of the island of Cyprus, 
they met the Roman ruler of the island, a man named Sergius 
Paulus. He was a good man, and sent for Barnabas and Saul, 
that he might learn from them of Christ. But with the ruler was 
a Jew named Elymas, who claimed to be a prophet, and who opposed 



An Enemy Struck with Blindness 



705 



Barnabas and Saul in their teaching, and tried to persuade the ruler 
not to hear the gospel. 

Then Saul, full of the Holy Spirit, fixed his eyes on this man 
Elymas, the false prophet, and said to him, "0 thou man full of 
wickedness, thou child of the evil one, thou enemy of the right, 
wilt thou not stop to oppose the word of the Lord? The hand of 
the Lord is upon thee, and thou shalt be blind for a time, not able 
to see the sun!" 

And at once a mist and a darkness fell upon Elymas, and he 




ELYMAS STRUCK BLIND. 



groped about, feeling for some one to lead him by the hand. When 
the ruler saw the power of the Lord in bringing this stroke of blind- 
ness upon his enemy, he was filled with wonder, and believed the 
gospel of Christ. 

From this time Saul ceased to bear his old name, and was 
called Paul. He was no longer Saul, but ''Paul the Apostle," 
having all the power that belonged to Peter, and John, and the 
other apostles. 

From the island of Cyprus, Paul and Barnabas and John Mark 

45 



706 



The Earliest Missionaries 



sailed over the sea to a place called Perga. At this place John 
Mark left them, and went back to his home in Jerusalem. But 
Paul and Barnabas went into the land of Asia Minor, and came to 
a city called Antioch. This was not Antioch in Syria, from which 
they had come, but another Antioch in a region called Pisidia. 
There they went into the synagogue, and Paul preached to both 
Jews and Gentiles. Not many of the Jews believed Paul's words, 
but a great number of the Gentiles, people who were not Jews, 
became followers of Christ. This made the Jews very angry, and 
they roused up against Paul and Barnabas all the chief men of the 
city, and they drove Paul and Barnabas away. They went to 

Iconium, another 
city, and there 
they preached the 
gospel with such 
power that many 
of both Jews and 
Gentiles believed 
Christ. But 



n 









STTIOCH IN SYRIA. 



in 

the Jews who 
would not believe 
stirred up the city 
against Paul and 
Barnabas. They 
gathered a crowd 
of people, intend- 
ing to seize the apostles and to do them harm, and to kill them. 
But they knew of the coming of their enemies, and as they had 
now done their work in Iconium, and had planted the' church, they 
quietly went away from the city. 

The apostles Paul and Barnabas next went to the city of 
Lystra, in the land of Lycaonia, and there they preached the gospel. 
There were few Jews in that city, and they preached to the people 
of the land who were worshippers of idols. Among those who heard 
Paul speak at Lystra was a lame man, who had never been able to 
walk. Paul fixed his eyes on this man, and saw that he had faith 
to be made strong. He said to him with a loud voice, "Stand up 
on your feet!" 

And at the words the man leaped up and walked. As the 



First Worshipped, then Stoned 



707 



people saw how the lame man had been healed they were filled with 
wonder, and said, in the language of their land, "The gods from 
heaven have come down to us in the forms of men!" 

They thought that Barnabas was Jupiter, whom they wor- 
shipped as the greatest of the gods ; and because Paul was the chief 
speaker, they thought that he was Mercury, the messenger of the 
gods. In front of their city was a temple of Jupiter ; and the priest 
of the temple brought oxen, and garlands of flowers, and was about 
to offer a sacrifice to Barnabas and Paul as gods. It was some 
time before the two apostles understood what the people were doing. 
But when they saw that they were about to offer sacrifice to them, 
Paul and Bar- 
nabas rushed 
out among the 
people, and 
cried out, 
"Men, why do 
you do such 
things as 
these ? We 
are not gods, 
but men like 
yourselves. 
*And we bring 
you word that 

you should PAUL AND BARNABAS refuse the sacrifice. 

turn from 

these idols, which are nothing, to the living God, who made the 
heaven, and the earth, and the sea, and all things. It is God who 
has done good to you, and given you from heaven rains and fruit- 
ful seasons, filling you with food and gladness." 

And even with words like these they could scarcely keep the 
people back from offering sacrifices to them. But after a. time some 
Jews came from Iconium. These Jews stirred up the people against 
Paul, so that instead of worshipping him, they stoned him, and 
dragged out of their city what they supposed was his dead body. 
Then they left him, and as the believers gathered around, weeping, 
Paul rose up alive, and went again into the city. On the next day 
he journeyed with Barnabas to Derbe. There they preached the 




708 The Song in the Prison 

gospel and led many as disciples to Christ. After this they went 
again to the cities where they had preached, to Lystra in Lycaonia, 
to Iconium and Antioch in Pisidia, and to Perga in Pamphylia, and 
visited the churches which they had founded. They encouraged 
the believers, telling them to continue in the faith, and saying to 
them that those who would enter into the kingdom of God must 
expect to meet with trouble, and that God would give them a full 
reward. 



Story £en, 



THE SONG IN THE PRISON 

Acts xv : i, to xvi : 40. 




FTER Paul and Barnabas brought to Antioch the 
news [that the Gentiles had turned to the Lord, a 
great question arose in the Church. Some of the 
strict Jews said, "All these Gentile believers must 
become Jews, and keep the Jewish laws about food, 
and feasts, and washings and offerings." 

Others said that the laws were made for Jews only, and that 
Gentiles who believed in Christ were not called upon to live as Jews. 
After many words on both sides, Paul and Barnabas, with other 
believers, went up to Jerusalem to lay this matter before the apos- 
tles and the elders of the Church. They listened to Paul's story of 
God's great work among the Gentiles, and talked about it, and 
sought God in prayer, and at last the apostles, and elders, and the 
whole Church in Jerusalem sent a message to the Gentiles who 
believed, telling them that Jews and Gentiles were alike before God, 
that both were saved by believing in Christ, and that Gentiles who 






Paul's Second Journey 709 

believed were not called upon to keep the laws given to the Jews 
only. 

The apostles sent with Paul and Barnabas two men, Judas and 
Silas, to bring this news to the Church at Antioch. They came, and 
read the letter, which brought great joy to the Gentile believers. 
For now the Gentiles who believed in Christ were able to serve the 
Lord without obeying all the rules which the Jews themselves found 
very hard to keep. 

After a time Paul said to Barnabas, " Let us go out again and 
visit the brethren in the cities where we preached the gospel, and 
see how they are doing." 

Barnabas was willing to go, and wished to take again with them 
John Mark as their helper in the work. But Paul did not think it 
well to take with them the young man who went home in the middle 
of their journey, and left them to visit strange lands alone. Barnabas 
was determined to take Mark, and Paul refused to have him go, so 
at last Paul and Barnabas separated. Barnabas took Mark, and 
went again to the island of Cyprus. Paul chose as his helper Silas, 
who had come from Jerusalem to Antioch, and Paul and Silas went 
together through the lands in Asia Minor which Paul had visited on 
his earlier journey. Everywhere they sought out the churches 
which before had been planted by Paul and Barnabas, and they 
encouraged the disciples to be faithful in the the Lord. 

When Paul came to Derbe and Lystra he found a young man 
named Timothy, whose mother was of the Jewish race and a believer 
in Christ. Timothy had known the word of God from his childhood ; 
he had given his heart to Christ, and all the believers in Christ at 
Lystra and Iconium knew him and spoke well of him. Paul asked 
this young man Timothy to leave his home and to go out with him 
as his helper in the gospel. Timothy went, and from that time was 
with Paul as a friend and a fellow-worker, dearly beloved by Paul. 
Paul, and Silas, and Timothy went through many lands in Asia 
Minor, preaching the gospel and planting the church. The Spirit 
of the Lord would not let them go to some places which were not yet 
ready for the gospel, and they came down to Troas, which was on 
the sea, and opposite to the land of Macedonia in Europe. 

While they were at Troas a vision came to Paul in the night. 
He saw a man of Macedonia standing before him, and pleading with 
him, and saying, "Come over into Macedonia, and help us." 



710 The Song in the Prison 

When Paul told this vision to his friends they all knew that this 
was a call from the Lord to carry the gospel of Christ to Macedonia. 
As soon as they could find a vessel sailing across the sea they went 
on board, and with them went a doctor named Luke, who at this 
time joined Paul. Luke stayed with Paul for many years, and Paul 
called him "the beloved physician." Afterward Luke wrote two 
books which are in the Bible, "The Gospel according to Luke," and 
"The Acts of the Apostles." 

Paul and his three friends set sail from Troas ; and on the third 
day they came to the city of Philippi, in Macedonia; and there 
they stayed for some days. There was no synagogue in that city, 
and scarcely any Jews; and on the Sabbath-day Paul and his 
company went out of the city gate to the river-side, where was a 
place of prayer. There they sat down and talked with a few 
women, who had met together to pray. One of these was a woman 
named Lydia, who had come from Thyatira in Asia Minor, and 
was a seller of purple dyes. She was one who was seeking after 
God, and the Lord opened her heart to hear the words of Paul, and 
to believe in Christ. She was baptized, the first one brought to 
the Lord in all Europe ; and with her all in her house were baptized 
also. Lydia said to Paul and to his company, "If you count me 
as one who is faithful to the Lord, come into my house, and stay 
there." 

She urged them so strongly that they all went to Lydia's house, 
and made it their home while they were in the city. One day 
while they were going to the place of prayer, a young woman who 
had in her an evil spirit, met them. She was a slave -girl, and 
through the spirit in her, her owners pretended to tell what was to 
happen ; and by her they made great gains of money. As soon as 
she saw Paul and his friends, she cried out, " These men are servants 
of the Most High God, who tell you the way to be saved." 

And this she did day after day, following Paul and his com- 
panions. Paul was troubled to see her held in the power of the 
evil spirit; and he spoke to the spirit, "I command thee in the 
name of Jesus Christ to come out of her!" 

And in that very hour the spirit left the girl. But with the 
evil spirit gone from her, there were no more gains to her masters. 
They were very angry, and took hold of Paul and Silas, and dragged 
them before the rulers of the city, and they said, "These men, who 



The Earthquake at Midnight 



711 



are Jews, are making great trouble in our city, and are teaching 
the people to do what is against the law for Romans." 

And they stirred up the crowd of the lowest of the people 
against them. To please the throng, the rulers stripped off their, 
garments from Paul and Silas, and commanded that they should 
be beaten with rods. When they had received many cruel blows, 1 
they were thrown into the prison, and the jailor was charged to 
keep them carefully. He took them, all beaten and wounded, into 
the dungeon, which was in the very middle of the prison, and 
made their feet fast in the stocks. 

But about midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing 
hymns of praise to 
God, and the other 
prisoners were 
listening to them. 
Suddenly there 
was a great earth- 
quake, so that the 
foundations of the 
prison-house were 
shaken; every 
door was opened, 
and all the chains 
on the prisoners phillipi. 

were loosed, and 

all could have gone out free if feaf had not held them in their 
places. The jailor of the prison was suddenly roused out of sleep, 
and saw the prison-doors wide open. By the law of the Romans, a 
man in charge of a prisoner must take his place if his prisoner f 
escaped, and the jailor, thinking that the men in the prison had 
gotten away, drew out his sword, and was just going to kill him 
self, when Paul called out, " Do yourself no harm, for we are all 
here." 

Then the jailor called for lights, and sprang into the room 
where Paul and Silas were, and, trembling with fear, fell down at 
their feet and cried out, "O, sirs, what must I do to be saved?" 

And they said, " Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you 
shall be saved, and those in your house with you." 

And that night, in the prison, they spoke the word of the Lord 




712 



The Song in the Prison 



to the jailor, and to all that were with him, The jailor washed 
their wounds, and he and all his family were baptized in that hour. 
Afterward, he brought them from the prison into his own house, 
and set food before them. And the jailor and his household were 
all happy in the Lord, believing in Christ. 

The rulers of the city knew well that they had done an unjust 
act in beating Paul and Silas, and thrusting them into prison ; but 
they did not know that Paul and Silas, though Jews, were also 
free citizens of Rome, whom it was unlawful to beat or to put in 
prison without a fair trial. In the morning the rulers sent their 
officers to the jailor, saying, "Let those men go." And the jailor 

brought their 
words to Paul, 
and said, "The 
rulers have sent 
to me to let you 
go; therefore, now 
come out of the 
prison, and go in 
peace." 

But Paul said, 
"We are free cit- 
izens of Rome, 
and without a 
trial they have 
beaten us, and 
have cast us into 
prison. And now do they turn us out secretly? No, indeed, let 
those rulers come themselves and bring us out!" 

The officers told these words to the rulers, and when they 
learned that these men were Roman citizens, they were frightened ; 
for their own lives were in danger for having beaten them. They 
came to Paul and Silas, and begged them to go away from the prison 
and from the city. Then Paul and Silas walked out of the prison, 
and went to the house of Lydia. They met the brethren who 
believed in Jesus, and spoke to them words of comfort and of help, 
and then they went out of the city. In Philippi, from this time 
there was a church which Paul loved greatly, and to which in 
after-times he wrote "The Epistle (or letter) to the Philippians," 




Story <£let>en. 



PAUL'S SPEECH ON THE HILL. 

Acts xvii : i to 34. 




ROM Philippi, Paul and Silas went to Thessalonica, which 
was the largest city in Macedonia. There they found 
many Jews, and a synagogue where the Jews wor- 
shipped. For three weeks Paul spoke at the meetings 
in the synagogue, and showed the meaning of the Old 
Testament writings that the Saviour for whom all the Jews were 
looking must suffer, and die, and rise again from the dead. And 
Paul said to them : 

"This Jesus, whom I preach to you, is the Christ, the Son of 
God and the King of Israel." 

Some of the Jews believed Paul's teachings, and a far greater 
number of the Greeks, the people of the city who were not Jews, 
became followers of Christ. And with them were some of the 
leading women of the city, so that a large church of believers in 
Christ arose in Thessalonica. 

But the Jews who would not believe in Jesus were very angry 
as they saw so many seeking the Lord. They stirred up a crowd 
of the lowest people in the city, and raised a riot, and led a noisy 
throng to the house of a man named Jason, with whom they sup- 
posed that Paul and Silas were staying. The crowd broke into the 
house, and sought for Paul and Silas, but could not find them. 
Then they seized Jason, the master of the house, and some other 
friends of the apostles, and dragged them before the rulers of the 
city, and cried out : 

"These men who have turned the whole world upside down, 
have come to this city, and Jason has taken them into his house. 
They are acting contrary to the laws of Caesar the emperor, for 
they say that there is another king, a man whose name is Jesus." 

The rulers of the city were greatly troubled when they saw 
these riotous people, and heard their words. They knew that 



714 Paul's Speech on the Hill 

Jason and his friends had done nothing against the law of the land ; 
but to content the crowd they made the believers promise to obey 
the laws, and then they let them go free. The brethren of the 
church sent away Paul and Silas, in the night-time, to the city of 
Berea, which was not far from Thessalonica. There again they 
found a synagogue of the Jews, and, as in other places, Paul went 
into its meetings and preached Jesus, not only to the Jews, but 
also to the Gentiles, many of whom worshipped with the Jews. 

These people were of a nobler spirit than the Jews of Thessa- 
lonica, for they did not refuse to hear Paul's teachings. They 
listened with open minds, and every day they studied the Old 
Testament writings, to see whether the words spoken by Paul 
were true. And many of them became believers in Jesus, not only 
the Jews, but the Gentiles also; for those who study the Bible 
will always find Christ in its pages. But the news went to Thessa- 
lonica that the word of Christ was being taught in Berea. The 
Jews of Thessalonica sent some men to Berea, who stirred up the 
people against Paul and Silas. To avoid such a riot as had arisen 
in Thessalonica, the brethren in Berea took Paul away from the 
city, but Silas and Timothy stayed for a time. 

The men who went with Paul led him down to the sea, and 
went with him to Athens. There they left Paul alone, but took 
back with them Paul's message to Silas and Timothy to hasten to 
him as quickly as they could come. While Paul was waiting for 
his friends in Athens, his spirit was stirred in him, as he saw the 
city full of idols. It was said that in the city of Athens the images 
of the gods were more in number than the people. Paul talked 
with the Jews in the synagogue, and in the public square of the 
city with the people whom he met. For all the people of Athens, 
and those who were visiting in that city, spent most of their time 
in telling or in hearing whatever was new. And there were in 
Athens many men who were thought very wise, and who were 
teachers of what they called wisdom. Some of these men met 
Paul, and as they heard him, they said scornfully, ''What does 
this babbler say?" 

And because he preached to them of Jesus, and of his rising 
from the dead, some r s~aid, "This man seems to be talking about 
some strange gods!" 

There was in Athens a hill, called Mars' Hill, where a court 



An Altar with Wonderful Words 



715 



was held upon seats of stone ranged around. They brought Paul 
to this place, and asked him, saying, "May we know what is this 
new teaching that you are giving? You bring to our ears some 
strange things, and we wish to know what these things mean." 

Then Paul stood in the middle of Mars' Hill, with the people 
of the city around him, and he said : 

"Ye men of Athens, I see that you are exceedingly given to 
worship. For as I passed by I saw an altar, upon which was 




PAUL PREACHING ON MARS HILL. 



written these words, 'To the Unknown God.' That God whom 
you know not, and whom you seek to worship, is the God that I 
make known to you. The God who made the world and all things 
that are in it, is Lord of heaven and earth, and does not dwell in 
temples made by the hands of men; nor is he served by men's 
hands, as though he needed anything. For God gives to all men 
life, and breath, and all things. And he has made of one blood 
all the peoples who live on the earth: that all men should seek 



716 Paul at Corinth 

God, and should feel after him, and should find him; for he is 
not far away from any of us. For in him we live, and move, and 
have our being: even as some of your own poets have said, 'For 
we also are the children of God.' Since we are God's children, we 
should not think that God is like gold, or silver, or stone, wrought 
by the hands of men. Now God calls upon men to turn from their 
sins; and he tells us that he has fixed a day when he will judge 
the world through that man Jesus Christ whom he has chosen, and 
whom he has raised from the dead." 

When they heard Paul speak of the dead being raised, some 
laughed in scorn; but others said, "We will hear you again about 
this. ' ' After a time Paul went away from Athens. Very few people 
joined with Paul, and believed on Jesus. Among these few was a 
man named Dionysius, one of the court that met on Mars' Hill, 
and a woman named Damaris. A few others joined with them; 
but in Athens the followers of Christ were not many. 



Story Ctr>efoe, 



PAUL AT CORINTH 

Acts xviii : i to 22. 




AUL went from Athens to Corinth, another city in the 
land of Greece. He was alone, for his fellow-workers, 
Silas and Timothy, had not yet come from Thessalonica. 
But in Corinth, Paul met people who soon became his 
dear friends. They were a man named Aquila and his 
wife Priscilla, who had lately come from Rome to Corinth. Every 
Jew in those times was taught some trade, and Paul's trade was the 
weaving of a rough cloth used for making tents. It happened that 
Aquila and Priscilla were tent-makers also, and so Paul went to live 
in their house, and they worked together at making tents. 



Paul Preaches to the Gentiles 



717 



On the Sabbath-days Paul went into the synagogue, and there 
preached the gospel and talked about Christ with the Jews and also 
with the Greeks who worshipped God in the synagogue. Some 
believed Paul's words, and some refused to believe, but opposed 
Paul, and spoke against him. After a time Silas and Timothy came 
from Thessalonica to meet Paul. They brought to him word about 
the church at Thessalonica, and some questions that were troubling 
the believers there. To answer these questions, Paul wrote from 
Corinth two letters, which you can read in the New Testament. 
They are called "The First Epistle to the Thessalonians, " and "The 
Second Epistle to the Thessalonians." These two letters are the 
earliest of Paul's 
writings that have 
been kept. We 
do not know that 
Paul wrote any 
letters to churches 
earlier than these; 
but if he did write 
any, the letters 
have been lost. 

Now that Silas 
and Timothy, as 
well as Aquila and 
Priscilla, were with 

Paul, he was no more alone, and he began to preach even more 
earnestly than before, telling the Jews that Jesus was the Christ 
of God. When he found that the Jews would not listen, but 
spoke evil words against him and against Christ, Paul shook out 
his garment, as though he were shaking dust from it, and he said 
to the Jews, " Your blood shall be upon your own heads, not on 
me ; I am free from sin, for I have given you the gospel, and you 
will not hear it. From this time I will cease speaking to you, and 
will go to the Gentiles." 

And Paul went out of the synagogue, and with him went those 
who believed in Jesus. He found a house near to the synagogue 
belonging to a man named Titus Justus, a Gentile who worshipped 
God, and in that house Paul preached the gospel to all who came, 
both Jews and Gentiles. Many who heard believed in Christ, and 




718 Paul at Corinth 

were baptized ; and among them was a Jew named Crispus, who had 
been the chief ruler of the synagogue. But most of those who joined 
the Church of Christ in Corinth were not Jews, but Gentiles, men and 
women who turned to God from idols. One night the Lord came to 
Paul in a vision, and said to him, " Paul, do not be afraid ; but speak, 
and do not hold thy peace. I am with thee, and no one shall come 
against thee to do thee harm; for I have many people in this city." 

And Paul stayed in Corinth a year and six months, teaching the 
word of God. After a time the Jews in a great crowd rushed upon 
Paul, and seized him, and brought him into the court before the 
Roman governor of Greece, a ruler whose name was Gallic They 
said to the governor, "This man is persuading people to worship 
God in a way forbidden by the law." 

Paul was just opening his mouth to speak in answer to this 
charge when Gallio, the governor, spoke to the Jews, "O ye Jews, 
if this were a matter of wrongdoing or of wickedness, I would listen 
to you. But if these are questions about words, and names, and 
your law, look after it yourselves, for I will not be a judge of such 
things." And Gallio drove all the Jews out of his court. Then 
some of the Greeks seized Sosthenes, who was the chief ruler of 
the synagogue, and beat him before the judge's seat in the court- 
room. But Gallio did not care for any of these things; for he 
thought it was a quarrel over small matters. 

After staying many days Paul took leave of the brethren in the 
church at Corinth, and sailed away in a ship across the ^Egean Sea 
|to Ephesus, which was a great city in Asia Minor. With Paul were 
his friends Aquila and Priscilla. At Ephesus, Paul went into the 
synagogue of the Jews and talked with them about the gospel and 
about Christ. He could stay only for a little while, although they 
asked him to remain longer ; but he said, " I must go away now ; but 
if it be the will of God, I will come again to you." 

And he set sail from Ephesus, but left Aquila and Priscilla 
there until he should return. Paul sailed over the Great Sea to 
Caesarea, in the land of Judea. At that place he landed, and from 
thence went up to Jerusalem, and visited the mother-church. Then 
he journeyed back to Antioch, the city from which he had set forth. 

And this was the end of Paul's second journey among the 
Gentiles preaching the gospel. 



Story Cfytrteen. 



PAUL AT EPHESUS, 

Acts xviii : 23, to xx : 1. 




HE apostle Paul did not stay long at Antioch, but soon 
started out for another journey among the churches 
already formed and into new fields. He went through 
Syria, the country around Antioch, and then to the 
region near Tarsus, which had been his early home, 
everywhere preaching Christ. He crossed over the mountains and 
entered into the heart of Asia Minor, coming to the land of Galatia. 
The people in this land were a warm-hearted race, eager to see and 
to hear new things. They listened to Paul with great joy, and 
believed at once in his teachings. Paul wrote afterward that they 
received him as an angel of God, as though he were Jesus Christ 
himself, and that they were ready to pluck out their own eyes and 
give them to him, so eager were they to have the gospel. 

But soon after Paul went away some Jewish teachers came, 
saying to these new believers, " You must all become Jews, and take 
upon you the whole Jewish law, with all its rules about things to be 
eaten, and fasts, and feast-days, or you cannot be saved." 

And the people in Galatia turned quickly away from Paul's 
words to follow these new teachers ; for they were fond of change, 
and were not firm in their minds. There was danger that all Paul's 
( work among them would be undone. But as soon as news came to 
Paul of their sudden turning from the truth of the gospel he wrote 
to them a letter, "The Epistle to the Galatians." In this letter he 
called them back to Christ, and showed them that they were free, 
and not slaves to the old law, and urged them to stand fast in the 
freedom which Christ had given them. 

Paul went through Phrygia , and from that land came again to 
Ephesus, which he had visited before, as we read in the last Story. 
This time he stayed in Ephesus more than two years, preaching the 
gospel of Christ. At first he spoke in the synagogue of the Jews, 

(719) 



720 Paul at Ephesus 

telling the Jews that Jesus was the Anointed Christ, the King of 
Israel, and proving it from the prophets of the Old Testament. But 
when the Jews would no longer listen to him, but spoke evil against 
the way of Christ, Paul left the synagogue, and spoke every day in 
a school-room which was opened to him. His work became so well 
known that almost all the people in Ephesus, and many in the lands 
around the city, heard the word of the Lord. 

God gave to Paul at this time great powers of healing. They 
carried to the sick the cloths with which Paul had wiped the sweat 
from his face, and the aprons that he had worn while he was at work 
making tents, and the diseases left the sick, and evil spirits went out 
of men. These wonderful works drew great crowds to hear Paul, 
and led many more to believe in his words. 

There were in that city some Jews who wandered from place 
to place, pretending to drive evil spirits out of men. These men 
saw how great was the power of the name of Jesus as spoken by Paul, 
and they also began to speak in Jesus' name, saying to the evil spirits 
in men, " I command you to come out, in the name of Jesus, whom 
Paul preaches." 

And the evil spirit in one man answered two of these pre- 
tenders, " Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?" 

And the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped upon them, and 
threw them down, and tore off their clothing, and beat them, so that 
they ran out of the house naked and covered with wounds. Every- 
body in the city, both Jews and Greeks, heard of this, and all knew 
that even the evil spirits feared the name of Jesus as spoken by Paul. 
And many of those who had dealt with evil spirits came and con- 
fessed their deeds and turned to the Lord. And some who had 
books claiming to tell how to talk with spirits brought them, and 
burned them as bad books, although the books had cost a great sum 
of money. Thus the word of the Lord grew in Ephesus, a great 
number believed in Christ, and a large church arose. 

Paul now began to feel that his work in Ephesus was nearly 
finished. He thought that he would go across the ^Egean Sea, and 
visit the churches at Philippi and Thessalonica and Berea, in the 
land of Macedonia, and then the church at Corinth in Greece, and 
then go once more to Jerusalem. 

"And after I have been there," said Paul, "then I must also 
see Rome." 



Ephesus in an Uproar 721 

So to prepare for his coming into Macedonia he sent Timothy, 
and another friend named Erastus, while he himself stayed in 
Ephesus for a time longer. But soon after this a great stir arose in 
that city over Paul and his preaching. 

In the city of Ephesus was standing at that time an idol-temple, 
one of the greatest and richest in all the world. Around the temple 
stood a hundred and twenty great columns of white marble, each 
column the gift of a king. And in it was an image -of the goddess 
Diana, which the people believed had fallen down from the sky. 
People came from many lands to worship the idol-image of Diana ; 
and many took away with them little images like it, made of gold 
or silver. The making and selling of these little images gave work 
to many who wrought in gold and silver, and brought to them great 
riches. 

One of these workers in silver, a man named Demetrius, called 
together his fellow- workmen, and said to them, ''You know, my 
friends, that by this trade we earn our living and win riches. And 
you can all see and hear that this man Paul has persuaded and 
turned away many people, not only in this city, but also throughout 
all these lands, by telling all men that there are no gods which are 
made by hands. There is danger that our trade will come to an 
end, and danger, too, that the temple of the great goddess Diana 
may be made of no account. It may be even that the goddess 
whom all Asia and all the world worships shall fall down from her 
greatness. ' ' When the workmen heard this they became very angry, 
and they set up a great cry, shouting out, "Great is Diana of the 
Ephesians ! Great is Diana of the Ephesians ! ' ' 

And soon the whole city was in an uproar ; people were running 
through the streets and shouting, and a great multitude was drawn 
together, most of them not knowing what had caused the crowd and 
the noise. In the side of the hill near the city was a great open 
place hollowed out, having stone seats around it on three sides. It 
was used for public meetings, and was called "the theatre." Into 
this place all the people rushed, until it was thronged ; while Deme- 
trius and his fellow- workers led on the shouting, " Great is Diana of 
the Ephesians!" 

They seized two of Paul's friends who were with him in the city, 
Gaius and Aristarchus, and dragged them with them into the 
theatre. Paul wished to go in, and try to speak to the people, but 
46 



722 



Paul at Ephesus 



the disciples of Christ would not let him go ; and some of the chief 
men of the land, who were Paul's friends, sent word to him, urging 
and beseeching him not to venture into the theatre. 

The noise, and the shouting, and the confusion were kept up 
for two hours. When the throng began to grow tired, and were 
ready to listen, the clerk of the city came forward, and quieted the 
people, and said, "Ye men of Ephesus, what is the need of all this 
riot ? Is there any one who does not know that this city guards the 
temple of the great goddess Diana, and of the image that fell down 
from the heavens ? Since these things cannot be denied, you should 

be quiet, and do 
nothing rash or 
foolish. You have 
brought here these 
men, who are not 
robbers of temples, 
nor have they 
spoken evil against 
our goddess. If 
Demetrius and the 
men of his trade 
have a charge to 
bring against any 
ephesus men, the courts 

are open, and 
there are judges to hear their case. But if there is any other 
business, it must be done in a regular meeting of the people. For 
we are in danger for this day's riot, and may be brought to account 
for it, since there is no cause for it, and no reason that we can give 
for this gathering of a crowd." 

And after the city clerk had quieted the people with these 
words he sent them away. When the riot was over, and all was 
peaceful again, Paul met the disciples of Christ and spoke to them 
once more. He had been in Ephesus for three years preaching ; and 
while there he had written, besides the epistle or letter to the Gala- 
tians, that to the Romans, and two letters to the Corinthians, the 
believers in Christ at Corinth in Greece. He now sailed away from 
Ephesus, across the ^Egean Sea to Macedonia, where he had preached 
the gospel before on his second journey. 






■* %• 






- ■ 



Story fourteen. 



PAUL'S LAST JOURNEY TO JERUSALEM, 

Acts xx : 2, to xxi : 16. 




FTER his three years at Ephesus in Asia Minor, Paul 
sailed across the ^Egean Sea to Macedonia. There 
he visited again the churches in Philippi, Thessa- 
lonica and Berea. Then he went southward into 
Greece, and saw again the church at Corinth, to 
which shortly before he had written two long letters. While Paul 
was visiting these churches he told them of the believers in Christ 
among the Jews in Jerusalem and Judea ; that many of these were 
very poor, and since they had become disciples of Christ the other 
Jews would not help them. Therefore Paul asked the Gentile 
churches everywhere to send gifts to these poor people. He said 
in his letters : 

"These people have sent the word of Christ to you; now send 
to them your gifts to show that you love them, and to show that 
you thank God for the gift of his Son who saves you from your sins." 
From each of the churches men were chosen -to go with Paul 
to Jerusalem and to carry these gifts. From Berea, the place where 
so many had studied the Scriptures, as we read in Story Eleven, 
went a man named Sopater. From Thessalonica went Aristarchus 
and Secundus. From Derbe in Asia Minor, Gaius and Timothy 
were sent; and from the other churches in Asia Minor, Tychicus 
and Trophimus. All these went on before, and waited for Paul at 
Troas, on the shore of the ^Egean Sea. Paul's friend Luke the 
doctor joined him again at Philippi, and they sailed together to 
Troas. There the other disciples met them, and they stayed for 
a week. 

On the evening of the first day of the week, a farewell meeting 
was held at Troas, for Paul and his party, who on the next day were 
to start on their journey to Jerusalem. The meeting was in a large 
upper room on the third story of a house, and it was filled with 

(723) 



724 PauPs Last Journey to Jerusalem 

people who had come to hear Paul. While Paul was speaking, one 
young man, named Eutychus, who was sitting in a window, dropped 
asleep, and in his sleep fell out of the window upon the ground, 
two stories below. He was taken up dead; but Paul went down, 
and fell on him, and placed his arms around him, saying, " Do not 
weep for him, for his life is still in him." 

Then Paul went up again, and broke the bread with the 
believers, and held with them the Lord's Supper; and then he 
talked again for a long -time, even until the break of day. And 
they brought the young man living, at which they were very happy. 

All the rest of the party going to Jerusalem, except Paul, w^ent 
on board the ship at Troas. But as the ship was to stop on the 
way at a place called Assos, Paul chose to go to that place on foot. 
At Assos, they took Paul on board, and sailed for some days among 
the islands of the JEgesm Sea, and stopped at Miletus, which was 
not far from Ephesus. Paul did not wish to go to Ephesus, but 
he sent to the elders of the church, asking them to come and meet 
him at Miletus. They came, and Paul said to them : 

"You know from the first day that I set foot in this part of 
Asia, after what manner I was with you all the time, serving the 
Lord with a lowly mind, and with tears, and with many troubles 
which came upon me from the plots of the Jews. You know, too, 
how faithfully I spoke to you, teaching you in public and from 
house to house, to repent of your sins, and to believe in our Lord 
Jesus Christ. 

"And now, bound in my spirit, I am going to Jerusalem, not 
knowing what shall come upon me there, except that the Holy 
Spirit tells me in every place that chains and troubles will meet me. 
But I do not hold my life of any account, as dear to me : so that I 
may run out my race in Christ, and may do the work given me by 
the Lord Jesus, to preach the good news of God's grace. And now, 
I know that you all, among whom I went preaching the kingdom, 
shall see my face no more. 

"Take heed to yourselves,, and to all the flock which the Holy 
Spirit has placed in your care, as shepherds to feed the church, 
which the Lord Jesus bought with his own blood . I know that after 
I go away, enemies, like savage wolves, shall come among you, not 
sparing the flock, and also among yourselves men shall rise up 
speaking false things and leading away disciples after them. 



Bidding Paul Farewell 725 

Therefore watch, and remember that for three years I did not 
cease warning you, night and day, with tears. 

" And now, I leave you with God, and with the word of his grace, 
which is able to build you up and to make you fit to dwell among 
his holy ones. I have not sought among you gold, or silver, or 
fine clothing. You yourselves know that these hands of mine have 
worked for my own living, and to help those who were with me. 
I have tried to show you by my own life how that you should in 
the same way help those who are weak, and remember the words 
of the Lord Jesus, ' It is more blessed to give than to receive.' " 

When Paul had said this, he kneeled down and prayed with 
them all. And they all wept, and fell on Paul's neck, and kissed 
him; for they felt very sad at his words, that they should see his 
face no more. They went with him to the ship, and saw him sail 
away from them. 

Paul and his company sailed among the islands and toward the 
land of Judea, and went ashore at Tyre. There they found dis- 
ciples, and stayed with them a week. Some of these spoke to Paul 
in the Spirit of God, and told him not to go into Jerusalem. But 
Paul had set his face toward that city; and when he found a ship 
going from Tyre to Judea, all the disciples, with their wives and 
their children, went with him out of the city; and all knelt down 
together on the beach and prayed, before they parted from each 
other. Paul's party left the ship at a place called Ptolemais, from 
which they walked down the shore to Caesarea. This was the place 
where years before Peter had given the gospel to the Roman 
centurion Cornelius, as we read in Story Seven. And there Paul 
found Philip, the man who had preached to the Samaritans and 
to the nobleman from Ethiopia, of whom we read in Story Five. 
In those old days, Paul, then Saul, had been Philip's enemy, and 
had driven him out of Jerusalem. Now they met as friends, and 
Paul stayed as a guest at Philip's house. 

While they were at Caesarea, an old man, named Agabus, came 
down from Jerusalem. He was a prophet, to whom God had shown 
some things that were to come to pass. We have read of a prophecy 
by this man before, in Story Nine. This man came to Paul, and 
took off Paul's girdle, and with it bound his own feet and hands, 
and he said : 

''Thus saith the Spirit of God, 'So shall the Jews at Jerusalem 



726 The Speech on the Stairs 

bind the man that owns this girdle, and shall give him into the 
hands of the Gentiles.'" 

When they heard this, all Paul's friends, and Philip, and the 
disciples of Caesarea, pleaded with Paul and begged him not to go 
up to Jerusalem. But Paul answered: 

" What are you doing, weeping and breaking my heart? I am 
ready not to be bound only, but also to die at Jerusalem for the 
name of the Lord Jesus ! ' ' 

When they saw that Paul could not be moved from his purpose, 
they ceased trying to persuade him, saying, "The will of the Lord 
be done." 

After some days in Caesarea, Paul and his friends, with some of 
the believers from Caesarea, went up the mountains to Jerusalem, 
So Paul was once more, and now for the last time, in the city of 
his people. 



Story fifteen, 



THE SPEECH ON THE STAIRS, 

Acts xxi : 17, to xxii : 29. 




,HEN Paul and his friends came to Jerusalem, they met 
with the church in that city, and gave the money 
which had been gathered among the Gentiles to help 
those of the Jewish believers in Christ who were poor. 
The Apostle James, the Lord's brother, who was at 
the head of the church in Jerusalem, gave to Paul and his friends 
a glad welcome, and praised God for the good work wrought among 
the Gentiles. 

About a week after Paul had come to Jerusalem, he was wor- 
shipping in the Temple, when some Jews from the lands around 



Paul Rescued from a Mob 727 

Ephesus saw him. They at once stirred up a crowd, and took 
hold of Paul, crying out : - 

"Men of Israel, help! This is the man who teaches all men 
everywhere against our people, and against our law, and against 
this Temple. Besides, he has brought Gentiles into the Temple, 
and thus has made the holy house unclean ! ' ' 

They had seen with Paul, walking in the city, one of his friends 
from Ephesus who was not a Jew, and they started the false report 
that Paul had taken him into the Temple. When the Jews set up 
this cry against Paul, all the city was stirred up, and a great crowd 
gathered around Paul. They dragged Paul out of the Temple into 
the outer court, and were about to kill him, in their rage. 

But in the castle on the north of the Temple was a Roman 
guard of soldiers, a thousand men under the command of an officer, 
whom we should call a colonel, but whom they called "the chief 
captain/' Word came to this officer that all Jerusalem, was in a 
riot, and that a wild mob had seized the Temple. He called out 
companies of soldiers and their centurions, or captains, and rushed 
quickly into the Temple and into the midst of the crowd who were 
beating and trampling upon Paul. The chief captain took Paul 
from their hands, and, thinking that he must have done something 
very wicked to call forth such a riot, ordered him to be fastened 
with two chains. 

Then he asked who this man was and what he had done. All 
began to answer at once, some shouting one thing and some another, 
and as the chief captain could understand nothing in the confusion, 
he commanded the soldiers to take him into the castle. The crowd 
made a rush to seize Paul and take him away from the soldiers, 
but they carried him through the throng and up the stone steps 
that led into the castle, while all around, at the foot of the stairs, 
was the multitude of angry Jews, crying out, "Away with him! 
Kill him!" 

Just as they reached the platform at the door of the castle, 
Paul, in a quiet manner, spoke to the chief captain in his own 
language, which was the Greek tongue. He said, "May I say 
something to you? " The officer was surprised, and he answered 
Paul, "Do you know Greek? Are you not that man from Egypt 
who some time ago rose up against the rulers, and let out into the 
wilderness four thousand men who were murderers?" 



728 The Speech on the Stairs 

But Paul said, " I am a Jew, of Tarsus in Cilicia. I belong to 
no mean city. I pray you, give me leave to speak to the people." 

The chief captain thought that if this man should speak to the 
people, he might learn something about him, so he gave him leave. 
Then Paul, standing on the stairs, beckoned with his hand to the 
crowd to show that he wished to speak. Soon everybody became 
quiet, for all wanted to hear; and then Paul began to speak to the 
people. But he did not speak in Greek, as he had spoken to the 
chief captain. He spoke in the Hebrew tongue, their own language, 
which they loved to hear. And when they heard him speak in 
Hebrew, their own tongue, they were all the more ready to listen 
to him. And this was what Paul said : 

" Brethren and fathers, hear the words that I speak to you. 
I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city 
at the feet of the wise teacher Gamaliel, and taught in a strict way 
in the law of our fathers ; and I was earnest for God, as all of you 
are this day. And I was a bitter enemy of the way of Christ, 
binding and putting in prison both men and women who believed 
in Jesus. The high-priest himself knows this, and all the council 
of the elders ; for they gave me letters to our people in Damascus. 
And I went on a journey to that place to bring in chains from 
Damascus to Jerusalem those who followed Jesus, to punish them. 

"And it came to pass as I made my journey and drew nigh to 
Damascus, suddenly there shone from heaven a great light round 
about me. And I fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying 
to me, ' Saul, Saul, why art thou righting against me and doing me 
harm?' And I answered, 'Who art thou, Lord?' And he said to 
me, 'I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are trying to destroy!' 

" Those who were with me saw the light, but they did not hear 
the voice that spoke to me. And I said, 'What shall I do, Lord?' 
And the Lord said to me, 'Rise up, and go into Damascus, and it 
shall be told thee what things are given to thee to do.' 

" When I stood up I could not see, from the glory of that light, 
and I was led by the hands of those who were with me into Damascus. 
And a man named Ananias, a man who worshipped God and kept 
the law, of whom all the Jews in the city spoke well, came to me, 
and standing by me, said, ' Brother Saul, receive thy sight.' 

"And in that very hour I looked up and saw him. And he 
said to me, 'The God of our fathers hath chosen thee to know his 



Paul in the Castle 729 

will, and to see the Holy One, and to hear his voice. For thou 
shalt speak in his name to all men, telling them what thou hast 
seen and heard.' 

"And afterward, when I come back to Jerusalem, and was 
praying in the Temple, I saw the Lord again, and he spoke to me, 
'Go forth, and I will send thee far hence to the Gentiles.' ' 

The Jews listened to Paul quietly until he spoke that word 
"Gentiles," which roused up all their wrath. They began to cry 
out, 'Away with such a fellow from the earth! It is not fit that 
he should live!" 

And as they flung off their garments, and threw dust into the 
air in their rage, the chief captain ordered that Paul should be taken 
into the castle and beaten with rods until he should tell what 
dreadful thing he had done to arouse such anger. For the chief 
captain, not knowing the Jews' language, had not understood what 
Paul had said. 

They took Paul into the castle, and were tying him up to beat 
him, when Paul said to the centurion who stood by, " Have you any 
right to beat a Roman citizen who has not been tried before a 
judge?" 

When the centurion heard this he went in haste to the chief 
captain, and said to him, "Take care what you do to that man, for 
he is a Roman citizen!" 

Then the chief captain came and said to Paul, "Tell me, are 
you a Roman citizen?" 

And Paul answered, "Yes, I am." 

The chief captain said, " I bought this right to be a citizen with 
a great sum of money." 

And Paul said to him, " But I am a free-born citizen." 

When those who were about to beat Paul knew that he was a 
Roman citizen, they went away from him in haste, and the chief 
captain was afraid, because he had bound Paul; for no one might 
place a chain on a Roman citizen until he had been tried before a 
Roman judge. 

They took Paul into the castle, but were careful not to do him 
any harm. 



Story Sixteen. 



TWO YEARS IN PRISON. 

Acts xxii : 30, to xxiv : 27. 




FTER Paul had been rescued from the Jewish mob, 
he was taken into the castle on the north of the 
Temple for safekeeping. The chief captain wished 
to know for what reasons the Jews were so bitter in 
their hate against Paul; and to learn this he com- 
manded the chief priests and rulers to meet together, and brought 
Paul down from the castle, and set him before them. Paul looked 
earnestly upon the council, and said to them, " Brethren, I have 
lived with a right feeling toward God all my life until this day." 

The high-priest, whose name was Ananias, was sitting in the 
council, clad in the white garments worn by all priests. He was so 
enraged at these words that he said to those who were standing near 
Paul, "Strike him on the mouth!" 

And Paul, roused to sudden anger at such unjust words, said in 
answer, " God shall strike you, O whited wall! Do you sit to judge 
me by the law, and yet command me to be struck against the law? " 

Those that were standing by said to Paul, " Do you speak such 
words against the high-priest of God?" 

"I did not know," answered Paul, "that he was high-priest. 
It is written in the law not to speak evil of a ruler of your people." 

Paul saw that there were two parties in the council, and by a 
few wise words he made some of the rulers friendly to him, so that 
they stood up and said, "We find no evil in this man. Perhaps a 
spirit has spoken to him, or an angel." 

This made the rulers on the other side all the more furious, and 
such a quarrel arose between them that the chief captain feared that 
Paul would be torn in pieces, and he again sent down soldiers to take 
him by force from the council and to bring him into the castle. 

On the night after this, while Paul was in his room in the castle, 
the Lord stood by him and said, " Be of good cheer, Paul ; for as you 

(730) 



The Plot to Kill Paul 731 

have spoken for me at Jerusalem, so shall you speak for me at 
Rome." 

Early on the next morning more than forty of the Jews laid a 
plan to kill Paul, and bound themselves together by an oath, swear- 
ing that they would neither eat nor drink until they had slain him. 
These men came to the chief priests, and said, ''We have bound 
ourselves under a great oath that we will taste nothing until we have 
killed Paul. Now, do you ask the chief captain to bring Paul down 
again to meet the council, so that they may hear him, and try his 
case once more. And while he shall be on his way to the council 
we will rush in and kill him." 

Now Paul had a sister living in Jerusalem, and her son heard 
of this plot, and came to the castle, and told it to Paul. Then Paul 
called one of the officers, and said to him, "Take this young man 
to the chief captain, for he has something to tell him." 

So the officer brought the young man to the chief captain, and 
said to him, " Paul, the prisoner, called me to him, and asked me to 
bring this young man to you, for he has something to say to you." 

Then the chief captain took the young man aside, and asked 
him, " What is it that you have to say to me? " 

And he said, "The Jews have agreed to ask you to bring Paul 
before the council again ; but do not let him go, for there are more 
than forty men watching for him, who have sworn an oath together 
that they will neither eat nor drink until they have killed Paul." 

The chief captain listened carefully, and then sent the young 
man away, after saying to him, " Do not tell any one that you have 
spoken of these things to me." 

And after the young man had gone the chief captain called to 
him two centurions, captains over a hundred men, and he said to 
them, " Make ready two hundred soldiers to go as far as Caesarea, and 
seventy men on horseback, and two hundred men with spears, at 
nine o'clock at night." 

And he told them also to have ready horses for Paul, so that 
he might send him safe to Felix, the governor of the land, at Caesarea. 
And he wrote a letter in this manner : 

"Claudius Lysias sends greeting to the most noble governor 
Felix. This man was seized by the Jews, and would have been 
killed by them, but I came upon him with the soldiers, and took 
him from their hands, having learned that he was a citizen of Rome. 



732 



Two Years in Prison 



And to find out the reasons why they were so strongly against him, 
I brought him down to their council. But I found that the charges 
against him were about questions of their law, but nothing deserving 
death or bonds. When I heard that there was a plot to kill the 
man, I sent him at once to you, and told his enemies to go before 
you with their charges." 

So in the night almost five hundred men were sent with a guard 
for Paul. He was brought out of the castle, and taken that night 
as far as to Antripatris, about forty miles. On the next day the 
soldiers left him, thinking him to be no longer in danger, and returden 

to Jerusalem, while 
the horsemen rode 
on with him to 
Caesarea, where the 
governor Felix 
lived. The officer 
in charge gave the 
letter to the gov- 
ernor. He read 
the letter, and 
then asked Paul 
from what land he 
had come. Paul 
told him that he 
belonged to the 
land of Cilicia in 
Asia Minor. And 
Felix said, " I will hear your case when those who bring charges 
against you have come." 

And he sent Paul to be kept in a castle which had once belonged 
to Herod. After five days the high-priest Ananias and some others 
came to Caesarea, bringing with them a lawyer named Tertullus. 
And when Paul was brought before them in presence of Felix, the 
governor, Tertullus made a speech charging him with riot and law- 
breaking, and many evil deeds. They said also that he was " a ring- 
leader in the party of the Nazarenes," which was the name they gave 
to the Church of Christ. And the Jews all joined in the charge, 
saying that all these things were true. After they had spoken, the 
governor motioned with his hand toward Paul, showing that he 




A HEATHEN TEMPLE. 



The Governor Alarmed 733 

might speak, and Paul began, "I know that you have been for 
many years a judge over this people, and for that reason I speak to 
you willingly. For you may know that it is only twelve days since 
I went up to worship at Jerusalem. Nor was I quarreling with any 
one in the Temple, nor stirring up a crowd in the Temple, or the 
synagogues, or in the city. Nor can they prove to you the things 
that they have said against me. 

" But I do own to this, that after the way which they call 'the 
party of the Nazarenes,' so do I serve the God of our fathers, believ- 
ing all things in the law and in the prophets, and having a hope in 
God that the dead shall be raised up. And I have always tried to 
keep my heart free from wrong toward God and toward men. 

11 Now, after many years, I came to bring gifts to my people, and 
offerings for the altar. And with these they found me in the Tem- 
ple, but not with a crowd, nor with a riot. But there were certain 
Jews from Asia Minor who ought to have been here, if they have 
anything against me." 

Felix knew somewhat about the Church of Christ, and he said, 
"When Lysias, the chief captain, shall come down, I will settle this 
case." 

And he ordered Paul to be kept under guard, but that his 
friends might freely come to see him. After a few days Felix and 
his wife Drusilla, who was a Jewess, sent for Paul, and heard from 
him with regard to the gospel of Christ. And as Paul preached to 
him, of right living, and of ruling one's self, and of the judgment 
of God that should come upon sinners, Felix was alarmed, and said; 
" Go away for this time ; when a fit time comes, and I am ready to 
listen, I will send for you." 

Felix was not a just judge, for he hoped that Paul might give 
him money, so that he might set Paul free ; and with this in his mind, 
he sent for Paul, and talked with him many times. Two whole 
years passed away, and Paul was still in prison at Caesarea. At the 
end of that time Felix was called back to Rome, and a man named 
Porcius Festus was sent as governor in his place. Felix wished to 
please the Jews, and he left Paul a prisoner. 



Story Seventeen. 



THE STORY THAT PAUL TOLD TO 
THE KING. 

Acts xxv : i, to xxvi : 32. 




( HEN Festus came to rule over the land of Judea, in the 
place of Felix, who had kept Paul in prison so long, 
he went up to Jerusalem to visit that city. There the 
chief priests and the leading men spoke to him against 
Paul, and they asked that he might be sent to Jeru- 
salem to be tried. It was their plan to kill Paul on the way. But 
Festus told them that Paul should be kept at Caesarea, and that he 
himself would soon go there. 

" Let some of your leaders go down with me," said Festus, " and 
bring your charges against him, if you have any." 

When Festus came down to Caesarea he called them all together, 
and sat upon the judge's seat, and commanded Paul to be brought. 
Then the Jews said evil things about Paul, declaring that he had 
done wickedly. But they could not prove any of the things which 
they spoke against him. And Paul said, "I have done no wrong 
against the law of the Jews, nor against the Temple, nor against 
the rule of Cassar the emperor." 

Festus wished to please the Jews, for he did not know of their 
secret purpose to kill Paul. He said, "Are you willing to go up to 
Jerusalem, and there be tried upon these charges before me? " 

But Paul said, "I am standing before the Roman court where 
I ought to be judged. I have done no wrong to the Jews, as thou 
knowest very well, and no man shall, give me into their hands. I 
ask for a trial before Cassar, the emperor at Rome." 

It was the law throughout the Roman lands that any citizen 
of Rome, as Paul was, could ask to be tried at Rome before Cassar, 
the emperor. When Festus heard Paul's words, he said, " Do you 
ask to be tried before Cassar? Then unto Caesar you shall go." 

(734) 



Festus and King Agrippa 



735 



So Paul was taken back to the prison at Caesarea to be sent to 
Rome when his time should come. A few days after this a Jewish 
ruler named Agrippa, with his sister Bernice, came to visit Festus. 
He was called "King Agrippa," and he ruled over a part of the land 
on the east of 
the river Jor- 
d a n. While 
Agrippa and 
Bernice were 
at Caesarea, 
Festus said 
to them, 
"There is a 
certain man 
left a prisoner 
by Felix, of 
whom the 
chief priests 
and elders of 
the Jews 
asked, when 
I was at 
Jerusal em , 
that I should 
give orders 
to have him 
put to death, 
or given into 
their hands. 
I told them 
that the Ro- 
mans never 
give judg- 
ment against 

any man until he stands face to face before his enemies, and can 
make answer to their charges. When they came down to this 
place, and the man was brought before them, their charges were 
not the wicked acts that I expected to hear of; but they had 
some questions about their ways of worship, and about somebody 




PAUL BEFORE AGRIPPA. 



736 The Story that Paul Told to the King 

named Jesus, who was dead, but who Paul said was alive. As I 
could not understand these questions, I asked Paul whether he 
would go up to Jerusalem, and there be tried. But Paul asked 
for a trial before Caesar, and I am keeping him to be sent to the 
emperor at Rome." 

"I would like," said Agrippa, "to hear this man myself." 

"To-morrow," said Festus, "you shall hear him." 

So on the next day, Agrippa and his sister Bernice, and Festus, 
with the chief men of the city and the officers of the army, came in 
great state to the hall of judgment, and Paul was brought before 
them, chained to a Roman soldier, And after a few words by 
Festus, Agrippa said to Paul, "You may now speak for yourself." 

Then Paul spoke in words like these : 

"I think myself happy, King Agrippa, to give answer before 
thee of all the things charged against me by the Jews, because I am 
sure that thou dost know all the Jewish ways and the questions 
about the law. I ask thee, then, to hear me. My way of life from 
my youth all the Jews know, for I have lived among them ; and if 
they tell the truth, they would say that I was of those who kept the 
laws of our people most carefully. And now I stand here to be 
judged for the sake of the promise which God made to our fathers ; 
that promise to which our twelve tribes, serving God day and night, 
hope to come. And on account of this hope, O king, the Jews 
charge me with doing evil ; because I believe that Jesus Christ rose 
from the dead to be the King of Israel. Why should it be some- 
thing thou canst not believe, that God does raise the dead to life? 

"In former times I really thought with myself that I ought to 
do many things against the name of Jesus of Nazareth. And this I 
did in Jerusalem; for I shut up many good men and women in 
prisons, and when they were put to death I gave my voice against 
them. I caused them to be beaten, and I tried to make them curse 
the name of Jesus; and being exceedingly mad against them, I 
sought for them even in cities far away. 

"And as I journeyed to Damascus with letters from the chief 
priests, at mid-day, king, I saw on the way a light from heaven, 
above the brightness of the sun, shining around me and those who 
were with me. And as we all fell down upon the ground, I heard 
a voice saying to me, ' Saul, Saul, why are you fighting against me? ' 

"And I said, 'Who art thou, Lord?' 




PAUL IN THE STORM AT SFA 



Paul's Story of His Life 737 

"And the Lord said, 'I am Jesus, whom you are trying to 
destroy. But rise up, and stand upon your feet, for I have shown 
myself to you to make you my servant and my messenger to tell 
of what you have seen, and of what I will show you. I will keep 
you safe from the Jewish people and from the Gentiles, to whom 
I send you, to open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to 
light, and from the power of Satan, the evil one, to God, that their 
sins may be forgiven, and that they may receive a reward among 
those that are made holy by faith in me. 

"O King Agrippa, I did not disobey the voice from heaven, 
but first at Damascus, and then at Jerusalem and throughout all 
the land of Judea, and also among the Gentiles, I have spoken, 
telling men to turn from sin to God, and to show deeds of right - 
doing. This is the cause why the Jews seized me in the Temple 
and tried to kill me. Having gained help from God, I stand unto 
this day, speaking to people, small and great, saying only what is 
given in the law of Moses and in the prophets: that the Christ 
must suffer and die, and that he by rising from the dead should 
give light to our people and to the Gentiles." 

While Paul was speaking, Festus said with a loud voice, " Paul, 
you are mad! Your great learning has turned you to madness ! " 

For Festus, being a Roman, knew nothing of Jesus or of the 
truths which Paul spoke. 

But Paul said to him, " I am not mad, most noble Festus. I 
speak only sober and truthful words. The king knows of these 
things, and I speak freely to him. None of these things are hidden 
from him, for these things were not done in secret. King Agrippa, 
dost thou believe the prophets? I know that thou dost believe." 

And Agrippa said to Paul, " A little more, and you will persuade 
me to become a Christian!" 

And Paul said, " I would before God, that whether with little 
or with much, that not only thou, but also all that hear me this 
day, might become such as I am, except these chains!" 

After these words, King Agrippa, and Bernice, and Festus the 
governor, and those who were there, went away by themselves, and 
they said to each other, "This man has done nothing deserving 
death or prison." 

And Agrippa said to Festus, "This man might have been set 
free if he had not asked to be tried before Caesar." 
47 



Story (Eighteen. 



PAUL IN THE STORM. 

Acts xxvii : i, to xxviii : i. 




,HEN Paul chose to be tried before Caesar trie emperor 
which was his right as a Roman, it became necessary 
to send him from Caesarea in Judea to Rome in Italy, 
where Caesar lived. In those years there were no 
ships sailing at regular times from city to city, but 
people who wished to go to places over the sea waited until they 
could find ships with loads sailing to those places. Paul and some 
other prisoners were given into the charge of a Roman centurion or 
captain named Julius, to be taken to Rome. Julius found a ship 
sailing from Caesarea to places on the shore of Asia Minor, which 
would take them a part of the way to Rome. He took Paul and 
the other prisoners on board this ship, and with Paul went his 
friends, Luke the doctor and Aristarchus from Thessalonica. 
Perhaps Timothy also was with them, but of this we are not certain. 

They set sail from Caesarea, after Paul had been in prison more 
than two years; and they followed the coast northward to Sidon. 
There they stopped for a day; and Julius the centurion was very 
kind to Paul, and let him go ashore to see his friends who were 
living there. From Sidon they turned to the northwest, and sailed 
past the island of Cyprus, and then westward by the shore of Asia 
Minor. At a city called Myra they left the ship, and went on board 
another ship, which was sailing from Alexandria to Italy with a 
load of wheat from the fields of Egypt. 

Soon a heavy wind began to blow against the ship, and it 
sailed very slowly for many days; but at last came to the large 
island of Crete, and followed its southern shore in the face of the 
wind until they found a harbor, and they stayed for a few days. 
But this harbor was not a good one, and they thought to leave it 
and sail to another. 

Paul now said to them, " Sirs, I see that this voyage will be 

(738) 



The Storm at Sea 739 

with great loss to the load and the ship, and with great danger to 
the lives of us all." 

And he urged them to stay where they were at anchor. But 
the owner of the ship and its captain thought that they might sail 
in safety; and Julius the centurion listened to them rather than 
to Paul. So when a gentle south wind began to blow, they set 
sail once more, closely following the shore of the island of Crete. 
But soon the wind grew into a great storm, and the ship could not 
face it, and was driven out of its course. Behind the ship was a 
little boat, and this they drew up on board ; and as the ship creaked 
and seemed in danger of going to pieces, they tied ropes around it 
to hold it together. 

The storm grew and drove the ship away from the island into 
the open sea. To make the vessel lighter they threw overboard a 
part of the load; and the next day they cast into the sea all the 
loose ropes and everything on the ship that could be spared. 

Day after day went on, with no sight of the sun, and night after 
night with no sight of the stars. The great waves rolled over the 
ship and beat upon it, until those on board hardly hoped to save 
their lives. In their fear, for days the men and the prisoners had 
eaten nothing. But in the midst of the storm, Paul stood up 
among them, and said : 

"Sirs, you should have listened to me, and not have set sail 
from Crete, for then we might have been saved much harm and loss. 
But even as it is, be of good cheer ; for though the ship will be lost, 
all of us on board shall be saved. This night there stood by me 
an angel of the Lord, to whom I belong, and whom I serve, and the 
angel said to me, 'Fear not, Paul; you shall yet stand before 
Caesar; and God has given to you all those who are sailing with 
you.' 

"Now, friends, be of good cheer; for I believe God, that it 
shall be even as the angel said to me. But we must cast upon 
some island." 

When the storm had lasted fourteen days, at night the sailors 
thought that they were coming near to land. They dropped down 
the line and found that the water was twenty fathoms deep ; then 
after a little they let down the line again and found the water only 
fifteen fathoms deep. They were sure now that land was near, but 
they were afraid that the ship might be driven upon rocks ; so they 



74° Paul in the Storm 

threw out from the stern or rear-end four anchors to hold the ship ; 
and then they longed for the day to come. 

The sailors let down the little boat, saying that they would 
throw out some more anchors from the bow, or front of the ship, 
but really intending to row away in the boat and leave the ship 
and all on board to be destroyed. But Paul saw their purpose, and 
he said to the centurion, " Unless these sailors stay in the ship none 
of us can be saved." 

Then the soldiers cut away the ropes of the boat, and let it 
fall off, so that the sailors could not get away. And as it drew 
toward daylight, Paul urged them all to take some food. He said : 

"This is the fourteenth day that you have waited without any 
food. Now I beg of you to eat, for you need it to keep your lives 
safely. You will all be saved ; not an hair shall fall from the head 
of one of you." 

He took some bread and gave thanks to God before them all; 
then he broke it and began to eat. This encouraged all the others, 
so that they too took food. There were in all on board the ship, 
sailors, and soldiers, and prisoners, and others, two hundred and 
seventy-six people. After they had eaten enough they threw out 
into the sea what was left of its load of wheat, so that the ship 
might be less heavy upon the waves, and might go nearer to the 
shore. 

As soon as the day dawned, they could see land, but did not 
know what land it was. They saw a bay with a beach, into which 
they thought that they might run the ship. So they cut loose the 
anchors, leaving them in the sea, and they hoisted up the fore-sail 
to the wind, and made toward the shore. The ship ran aground, 
and the front end was stuck fast in the sand, but the rear part 
began to break in pieces from the beating of the waves. 

Now came another danger, just as they were beginning to hope 
for their lives. By the Roman law, a soldier who had charge of a 
prisoner must take his prisoner's place if he escaped from his care. 
These soldiers feared that their prisoners might swim ashore and 
get free. So they asked the centurion to let them kill all the 
prisoners, while they were still on board the ship. But Julius the 
centurion loved Paul, and to save Paul's life, kept them from 
killing the prisoners. He commanded that those who could swim 
should leap overboard and get first to the land. Then the rest 




THE APOSTLE PAUL IN THE STORM. 



742 How Paul Came to Rome 

went ashore, some on planks, and some on broken pieces of the 
ship. And all came safe to the shore, not one life being lost. 

And then they found that they were on the island of Melita, 
which is in the Great Sea, south of the larger island of Sicily. 



Story nineteen 



HOW PAUL CAME TO ROME, AND HOW 
HE LIVED THERE. 

Acts xxviii: 2 to 31. 




HE people who lived on the island of Melita were very 
kind to the strangers who had been thrown by the 
sea upon their shore. It was cold and rainy, and 
the men from the ship were in garments drenched 
by the waves. But the people made a fire, and 
brought them all around it, and gave them good care. Very soon 
they found that many of the men were prisoners, who were under 
guard of the soldiers. 

Paul gathered a bundle of sticks and placed them on the fire, 
when suddenly a poisonous snake came from the pile, driven out 
by the heat, and seized Paul's hand with its teeth. When the 
people saw the snake hanging from his hand, they said to each other, 
" This man must be a murderer. He has saved his life from the sea, 
but the just gods will not let him live on account of his wickedness." 
But Paul shook off the snake into the fire, and took no harm. 
They looked to see his arm swell with poison, and to see him fall 
down dead suddenly. But when they watched him for a long time 
and saw no evil come to him, they changed their minds, and said 
that he was a god, and were ready to worship him. 



Paul Brought to Rome 743 

Near the place where the ship was wrecked were lands and 
buildings belonging to the ruler of the island, whose name was 
Publius. He took Paul and his friends into his house and treated 
them very kindly. The father of Publius was very ill with a fever 
and a disease called dysentery, from which people often died. But 
Paul went into his room, and prayed by his side ; then he laid his 
hands on him, and the sick man became well. As soon as the people 
of the island heard of this, many others troubled with diseases were 
brought to Paul, and all were cured. The people of Melita after 
this gave a great honor to Paul and those who were with him ; and 
when they sailed away they put on the ship as gifts for them all 
things that they would need. 

The centurion found at anchor by the island a ship from 
Alexandria on its way to Italy, which had been waiting there 
through the winter. The name of this ship was "The Twin 
Brothers." After three months in the isle, the centurion sent on 
board this ship his soldiers and prisoners, with Paul's friends ; and 
they sailed away from Melita. After stopping at a few places on 
their voyage, they left the ship at Puteoli, in the south of Italy, 
and from that place they were led toward Rome. The church at 
Rome, to which Paul had written a letter in other days, heard that 
he was coming, and some of the brethren went out to meet him a 
few miles from the city. When Paul saw them, and knew that they 
were glad to meet him, even though he was in chains, he thanked 
God, and took heart once more. He had long wished to go to 
Rome, and now he came into the city at last, but as a prisoner, 
chained to a Roman soldier. 

When they came to Rome, the good centurion Julius gave his 
prisoners to the captain of the guard in the city ; but from the kind 
words spoken by Julius, Paul was allowed to go to a house by 
himself, though with the soldier who guarded him always at his 
side. After three days in Rome, Paul sent for the chief men among 
the Jews of the city to meet in his house, because he could not go 
to the synagogue to meet with them. When they came, he said to 
them: 

" Brethren, though I have done no harm to our people, or 
against our law, yet I was made a prisoner in Jerusalem, and given 
into the hands of the Romans. When the Romans had given me 
a trial, they found no cause for putting me to death, and wished to 



744 How Paul Came to Rome 

set. me free. But the Jews spoke against me, and I had to ask for 
a trial before Caesar, though I have no charge to bring against my 
own people. I have asked to see you and to speak with you, 
because for the hope of Israel I am bound with this chain. ' ' 

They said to Paul, "No letters have come to us from Judea, 
nor have any of the brethren brought to us any evil report of you. 
But we would like to hear from you about this people who follow 
Jesus of Nazareth, for they are a people everywhere spoken against." 

So Paul named a day, and on the day they came in great num- 
ber to Paul's room. He talked with them, explaining the teaching 
of the Old Testament about Christ, from morning until evening. 
Some believed the words of Paul, and others refused to believe. 
And when they would not agree, Paul said to them as they were 
leaving, "Truly indeed did the Holy Spirit say of this people, in the 
words of Isaiah the prophet, ' Hearing ye shall hear, and shall not 
understand, and seeing ye shall see, and yet not see. For this 
people's heart is become hard, and their ears are dull, and their 
eyes they have shut; for they are not willing to see, nor to hear, 
nor to understand, nor to turn from their sins to God.' But know 
this, that the salvation of Christ is sent to the Gentiles; and they 
will listen to it, even though you do not." 

And after this Paul lived two years in the house which he had 
hired. Every day a soldier was brought from the camp, and Paul 
was chained to him for all that day. And the next day another 
soldier came; each day a new soldier was chained to Paul. And 
to each one Paul spoke the gospel, until after a time many of the 
soldiers in the camp were believers in Christ; and when these sol- 
diers were sent away they often carried the gospel with them to 
other lands. So Paul, though a prisoner, was still doing good and 
working for Christ. 

Then, too, some of Paul's friends were with him in Rome. The 
young Timothy, whom Paul loved to call his son in the gospel, and 
Luke the doctor, of whom he wrote as "the beloved physician," 
were there, perhaps in the same house. Aristarchus of Thessa- 
lonica, who had been with him in the ship and in the storm, was 
still with Paul. Mark, the young man who years before went with 
Paul and Barnabas on their first journey from Antioch, visited Paul 
in Rome. 

At one time, when Paul had been a prisoner nearly two years, 



PauPs Letters from Rome 745 

a friend came to see him from Philippi in Macedonia. His name 
was Epaphroditus, and he brought to Paul a loving message from 
that church, and also gifts to help Paul in his need. In return, Paul 
wrote to the church at Philippi a letter, "The Epistle to the Philip- 
pians," full of tender and gentle words. It was taken to the church 
by Epaphroditus and by Timothy, whom Paul sent with him, 
perhaps because in Rome Epaphroditus was very ill, and Paul may 
have thought it better not to have him go home alone. 

In Rome a man named Onesimus met Paul. He was a run- 
away slave who belonged to a friend of Paul, named Philemon, 
living at Colosse in Asia Minor, not far from Ephesus. Paul led 
Onesimus to give his heart to Christ, and then, although he- would 
have liked to keep him with himself, he sent him back to Philemon, 
his master. But he asked Philemon to take him, no longer as a 
slave, but as a brother in Christ. This he wrote in a letter which 
he sent by Onesimus, called "The Epistle to Philemon." Onesimus 
carried at the same time another letter to the church at Colosse. 
This letter is " The Epistle to the Colossians." And about the same 
time Paul wrote one of the greatest and most wonderful of all his 
letters, "The Epistle to the Ephesians," which he sent to the church 
in Ephesus. So all the world has been richer ever since Paul's time 
by having the four letters which he wrote while he was a prisoner 
at Rome. 

It is thought, though it is not certain, that Paul was set free 
from prison after two years ; that he lived a free man, preaching in 
many lands for a few years ; that he Avrote during those years the 
First Epistle to Timothy, whom he had sent to care for the church 
at Ephesus, and the Epistle to Titus, who was over the churches in 
the island of Crete ; that he was again made a prisoner and taken to 
Rome ; and from his Roman prison wrote his last letter, the Second 
Epistle to Timothy, and that soon after this the wicked Emperor 
Nero caused him to be put to death. Among his last words in the 
letter to Timothy were these : 

" I have fought a good fight; I have run my race; I have kept 
the faith; and now there is waiting for me the crown which the 
Lord himself shall give me." 



Story CtDcnty. 



THE THRONE OF GOD. 

Revelation i : 9 to 20 ; iv : 1, to v : 14. 




pU remember the apostle John, "the disciple whom 
Jesus loved." When John was an old man, he was 
made a prisoner by a cruel emperor of Rome, and 
was kept in a little island called "the isle of Patmos," 
which is in the ^Egean Sea, not far from Ephesus. 
While John was shut up on this island the Lord Jesus Christ came 
to him, and showed him some things which were to come to pass. 

It was on the Lord's Day, the first day of the week, when 
suddenly John heard behind him a loud voice, as loud as the sound 
of a trumpet. He turned to see from whom the voice came ; and 
then he saw seven golden candlesticks standing, and among them 
One whom John knew at once as his Lord, Jesus Christ. Yet 
Christ, as he saw him, was far more glorious than he had been 
while living as a man on the earth. He was dressed in a long 
white garment, with a girdle of gold over his breast; his hair and 
his face were so shining that they seemed as white as snow; his 
eyes flashed like fire; his feet were like polished brass, glowing as 
a furnace; and his voice sounded like the rushing of a mighty 
torrent of waters. In his right hand were held seven stars ; and a 
glory came from him brighter than the sun. 

When John saw his Lord in all this splendor he fell at his feet 
in great terror. Then he felt the right hand of Christ laid upon 
him ; and he heard his voice, saying : 

"Fear not; I am the first and the last, and the Living One. 
I was dead, and now I am alive for evermore. Write the things 
which you have seen, and other things which I will show you, and 
send them to the seven churches in Asia. The seven stars which 
you see in my hand are the ministers of the seven churches; and 
the seven candlesticks standing around me are the seven churches." 

Then the Lord gave to John the words of a letter which he 

(746) 



John Saw a Door Open in Heaven 747 

commanded John to write to the seven churches in that part of 
Asia, of which churches that at Ephesus was the first. To each 
church was to be sent a different letter, the word of the Lord Jesus 
to that church, praising it for some things, and rebuking it for 
others. When these words had been given to the churches, John 
saw a door opened in heaven ; and he heard a voice like the sound 
of a trumpet, saying to him, "Come up to this place, and I will 
show thee things that shall come to pass." 

Then at once John was taken up to heaven, and he saw the 
throne of God, and One sitting upon it whom he could scarcely see 
for the dazzling glory around him. And over the throne was r, 
rainbow of many colors. Around the throne were twenty-four 
thrones, and upon them sat twenty-four old men, the elders of the 
church, dressed in white, with crowns of gold on their heads. Out 
of the throne came lightning, and thunder, and the sound of voices. 
Before the throne was a sea of glass like crystal, and beside the 
throne were four strange living creatures, each having six wings. 
And these living ones were saying, " Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord 
God, the Almighty, which was, and which is, and which is to come." 

And then the elders would fall down and worship him who 
sits on the throne, and lay their crowns at his feet, and say, "Thou 
art worthy, O God, our Lord, to have the honor, and the glory, and 
the power; for thou didst create and make all things." 

Then John saw in the right hand of the One sitting on the 
throne a book, in the form of a roll, written on both sides, and 
sealed with seven seals. And a mighty angel called out with a 
loud voice, " Who is worthy to open the book, and to loose its seals ? " 

And no one in all the heaven, or on the earth, or under the 
earth, was able to open the book or to loosen its seals. Then John 
began to weep, because there was found no one worthy to open 
the book or even to look upon it. But one of the twenty-four 
elders spoke to John, saying, "Weep not; see, the Lion of the tribe 
of Judah, he who came from David, has won the right to open the 
book and its seven seals." 

Then before the throne, and among the elders and the four 
living creatures, John saw standing the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ, 
with the wounds of the cross upon him, in hands, and feet, and side. 
He came and took the book from the right hand of the One who 
was sitting on the throne. And as he took the book the four living 



74 8 The City of God 

creatures, and the twenty-four elders, all fell down before the 
throne. Each held a harp and a golden bowl full of incense, such 
as was used in the Temple, as a sign of the prayers of God's people. 
And they all sang a new song, with the words : 

"Worthy is the Lamb who was slain to have the power, and 
riches, and wisdom, and might, and honor, and glory, and blessing." 



Story Ctt>enty=one, 



THE CITY OF GOD. 

Revelations vii : 9 to 17 : xxi : 1 to 27 : xxii : 1 to 17, 




JGAIN John saw the throne of God, and before it, and 
before the Lamb of God, stood a multitude of people 
so great that no man could count them. They were 
dressed in white robes, and branches of palm were 
in their hands, and they cried with a loud voice, 
"Salvation unto our God upon the throne, and unto the Lamb." 

And all the angels were standing around the throne, and around 
the four living creatures, and around the seats of the twenty-four 
elders; and the angels fell down on their faces, and worshipped 
God, saying, "Amen: Blessing, and glory, and thanksgiving, and 
honor, and power, and might, be unto our God forever and ever." 
Then one of the elders spoke to John, and said, " Who are these 
dressed in white robes? and whence did they come?" 

And John answered, "My Lord, thou knowest who they are, 
and whence they came, but I do not know." 

Then the elder said, "These are they who have come up out 
of great trouble and sorrow, and have washed their robes, and 
made them white in the blood of the Lamb. For that cause they 
are before the throne of God, and they serve him day and night in 
his temple; and he that sitteth upon the throne shall spread his 



What the Voice Said 



749 



tent over them. They shall hunger no more, neither shall they 
thirst any more, nor shall the heat of the sun strike upon them. 
But the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne shall lead them 
as a shepherd, and shall guide them unto fountains of waters of 
life. And God shall wipe away every tear from their eyes." ' 

After this, John heard a great voice out of the throne, saying, 
" Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men; and God shall dwell 

among men, and they shall 

be his people, and he shall be 

their God. And God shall 

wipe away all tears from their 

eyes; and there shall be no 

more death; neither shall 

there be weeping or crying, 

nor pain, any more." 

And He that 

was sitting upon the 

throne said, " Be- 




JOHN ON THE ISLE OF PATMOS. 



hold, I make all things new. I will give to him who is thirsty 
of the fountain of the water of life freely." 

Then John seemed to be standing upon a great and high 
mountain ; and he saw a glorious city, the new Jerusalem, coming 
down out of heaven from God, having the glory of God. Over the 
city was a rich light, like that which glows in some precious stone, 
clear as crystal. Around the city was a lofty wall, and on each 
side of the wall were three gates; for the city was four-square, 




750* The City of God 

having twelve gates in all. Beside each gate stood an angel, and 
on the gates were written the names of the twelve tribes of Israel. 
And the wall had twelve foundations, and on them were written 
the names of the twelve apostles of the Lord. The wall was like 
jasper, and the city was built of pure gold, but a gold which seemed 
clear like glass. The twelve gates were twelve pearls ; each one of 
the gates was one great pearl. And the street of the city was pure 
gold, as clear as glass. 

John could see no Temple in the city, and it needs none; for 
the Lord God and Jesus Christ the Lamb of God are its Temple. 
And the city has no need of the sun nor of the moon to shine upon 
it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb of God is as a 
lamp in it. And the gates of the city shall not be shut by day, for 
there shall be no night there. 

And the nations of men shall walk in the light of this city, and 
the kings of the earth bring their glory into it ; and all the honor 
and glory of the nations of earth shall be brought into it. And 
into it shall never come anything that is evil, or unclean, or any one 
who does what God hates, or any one who. makes a lie. But they 
only shall come into it whose names are written in the Lord's book. 

And John saw a river of water of life, clear as crystal, coming 
forth from the throne of God and of the Lamb, and flowing through 
the street of the city. On each side of the river was growing the 
tree of life, bearing its fruit every month, twelve times in the year ; 
and the leaves of the tree were to heal all people of their diseases. 
And in the city the Lord God and the Lamb shall reign as kings. 

When John had seen and heard all these things, he fell down 
to worship the angel who had showed them to him. But the angel 
said to him, "Do not worship me, for I am a fellow-servant with 
you, and with your brethren the prophets, and with those who 
keep the word of the book: worship God." 

And the angel said to John, " Do not seal up the words of what 
you have heard and seen, but tell them to all men. And the Spirit 
and the bride, the Church of Christ, say ' Come,' And let him that 
hears say ' Come. ' And let him that is thirsty come ; and whoever 
will let him take the water of life freely." 

* In folioing this book the full-page color plates are not counted. There are 
in all about 800 pages in this book. 



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